The map below shows how close Highland Ridge is to I-65 - making it a 10 minute drive to Montgomery.

There are 2 entrances to Highland Ridge from McQueen Smith Road. The first entrance leads you to smaller homes; the second entrance to somewhat larger homes.  Like a lot of new developments in the area, Highland Ridge has a community pool, cabana, and picnic areas.

Many relocators choose Prattville for its public schools.  According to the Lowder website, Highland Ridge homes are zoned for Daniel Pratt Elementary, Prattville Junior High, and Prattville High School.  (For more info on Prattville City Schools, click here.)

So what is the asking price for a home in Highland Ridge?  Today, March 26, 2009, in the Montgomery Area MLS (which includes Prattville) there are 18 homes for sale in Highland Ridge.  They range from $154,900 for a 1,542 sq. ft home to $259,900 for a 2,258 sq. ft. home.

Here are some pictures I took as I drove through the neighborhood:

A street in Highland Ridge

It really is built on a ridge!

Another home in Highland Ridge.

First entrance off of McQueen Smith Road.

Highland Ridge community pool.

Highland Ridge home

Another Highland Ridge home.

Looking down over the neighborhood.

If you are interested is seeing some of the homes for sale in Highland Ridge, or want to know more about the Prattville area, contact us or give us a call at the number at the top of this page. We know the area and would love to help!

Related post:

What’s the Deal with Prattville? 4 Reasons Some Choose the “Preferred Community.”

I talked to a friend in Prattville who has kids in the city’s public schools, and she says that most residents refer to Prattville’s school zones as the “New” schools and the “Old” schools. Don’t worry about the “Old” and “New” descriptions – all Prattville schools have a good reputation. It simply seems to be a description of the buildings – newer, or older.

So, when choosing a neighborhood it’s important to ask, “New?” or “Old?”  Here’s the breakdown:

Why might you choose one zone over another?  Since the only time the distinction matters is in the elementary grades, some might like how the “Old” zone groups students of close ages together on separate campuses.  Others might like the “New” zone because they only have one carpool line to sit in when their kids are elementary age.  The good news for relocators is that you have choice.

A Realtor will be able to tell you which homes are in which zone, but it’s important to consult the Autauga County Schools for the final say.

I took pictures of some of the schools.  I planned on getting pics of all the city schools, but was foiled by a flat tire on Powell Road.  Silver lining:  my experience with the Prattville Police Department was great!  Kudos to PPD!

Prattville Kindergarten

Prattville Kindergarten

Prattville Primary School

Prattville Primary School

Prattville Primary School

Daniel Pratt Elementary School

Daniel Pratt Elementary School

Daniel Pratt Elementary School

PPD to the rescue!

If you’d like to look at homes in the Prattville area, or any area in the River Region, give us a call at the number above, or contact us using the contacts tab.  We’d love to help!

Related article:  What’s the Deal with Prattville?   4 Reasons Some Choose the “Preferred Community.”

Prattville residents now shop, eat, and play at home.   10 years ago this wasn’t the case, but now my family loves to take a shopping trip to Bass Pro Outdoor World, and then have dinner at Jim ’n Nicks BBQ in Prattville.

So why do some people choose Prattville?  For what it’s worth, here are my thoughts:

1) Small town feel – The City of Prattville says the population in 2002 was 25,500, and it’s growing steadily.  But that’s a lot smaller than Montgomery’s 200,000+ count.  Plus, there’s a lot of history and civic pride in this community.  Check out their website here.

2) Public Schools – The Autauga County school system has a solid reputation from K-12th grade. These include the schools in Autaugaville, Pine Level, Marbury, Billingsley, and the City of Prattville.

3) Proximity to Montgomery and military bases – Hop on I-65 south and it’s minutes to Maxwell AFB and downtown Montgomery.

4) Residential and commercial development- Prattville has new residential communities with similar amenities to new neighborhoods in east Montgomery. There’s a Target (enough said), new restaurants, and the Robert Trent Jones Capitol Hill golf complex.

Like I said, these are merely my observations.   Any Prattvillians want to add your two cents?  Let us know about life in Prattville by leaving us a comment.

How will home sales for 2008 match up to prior years?  I think it’s obvious that Montgomery is like most cities around the US in that the peak of the seller’s market was in 2005.  Since 2005, fewer and fewer homes sold each year.  Year to year comparisons show this pretty clearly:

Here is a look at the percent change in the first quarter when comparing the same month to the prior year.  For example, for the entire Montgomery area,  359 homes sold in January 2005 and 426 sold in January 2006, for an increase of 18.7% [(426-359)/359].  Contrast that with the fact that in March 2008, only 416 homes were sold as compared to 521 in March of 2007.  This yields a decrease of 20% [(416-521)/521].  Here’s a three year comparison:

A large part of the problem is the rising inventory of homes for sale in the Montgomery area:

Montgomery area homes just aren’t selling fast enough to soak up the inventory.  To put this into perspective, check out he ratio of homes sold to the inventory.  To get this, you take the total homes for sale in the Montgomery area in any particular month, and divide by the homes sold in that month.  For instance, in January 2008, there were 3,229 homes for sale, and 295 homes sold.  3,229 /295 is about 10.9.  If this number trends higher, it suggests a movement to a buyer’s market (i.e. lots of homes are for sale and not many are selling).  The opposite trend suggests movement to a seller’s. The first 3 months of 2008 show that ratio decreasing, so that is good news for Montgomery area home sellers, but we’re still a long way away from another seller’s market.  At times in 2005 this ratio was under 3.0.

Are you considering a move to the Montgomery, Prattville, or Wetumpka areas? Having trouble sorting through all of the info, to narrow it down to a city, then neighborhood, then the right house for you? Contact us, or call the number at the top of the page, we would be glad to be your local real estate agent.