Updated October 2026
This guide looks at Auburn neighborhoods to know (Moores Mill, Yarbrough Farms and Cary Woods) and Lake Martin communities including Willow Point, The Ridge, Trillium and StillWaters.
This is an unranked guide, and the statistics below provide broad residential market context rather than neighborhood or luxury-only results. For a number on a specific street, I pull closed-sale comps. For context, Auburn's residential median sold price was $494,087 in July 2026, per the Lee County Association of REALTORS®.
The Bottom Line
- In Auburn, start your comparison with the specific homes and lots available in Moores Mill, Yarbrough Farms and Cary Woods.
- At the lake, check water access, dock usability and community requirements for each property.
- Around Lake Martin, waterfront homes averaged several times the price of off-water homes in both July 2025 and July 2026.
- The sale price is only the start. Dues, dock permits, your property tax class and flood insurance all change what a high-end home really costs you.
How I compare closed-sale prices
Before comparing neighborhoods, it helps to agree on the yardstick. There are three common ones, and they rarely point to the same place.
Typical closed-sale price (the median). This tells you what a middle-of-the-road sale looks like. It's the steadiest measure, as long as there are enough sales to mean something.
Price per square foot. This adjusts for size. A street of smaller, beautifully finished homes can beat a street of bigger, plainer ones on this measure while losing on total price.
The highest single sale. One estate on a big tract can make a mostly modest area look like the top of the market. It's a great headline and a poor guide.
Asking prices and tax-assessed values aren't sales, either. When I compare neighborhoods for a client, I use closed sales only, the same window for every neighborhood, and enough sales in each to trust the middle. I list the top sale separately, because it's interesting but it isn't the neighborhood.
Custom homes on big lots often have few true comparables, which is its own puzzle. I walk through it in my post on pricing a home with no comparable sales. And if you're moving up within Auburn, the timing question in should I sell before I buy matters even more at higher price points.
Auburn neighborhoods to know
One thing to keep in mind as you read: an Auburn mailing address doesn't always mean inside the city, so confirm the parcel with the county if city services or city taxes matter to you.
Moores Mill
Moores Mill is a golf neighborhood anchored by the private Moore's Mill Club and its 18-hole course. Homes along the Moores Mill corridor range widely, from houses built to golf-club standards to standard Auburn residential that shares the road name. Golf-course lots are the ones buyers ask about first, and they're worth walking for easements and errant-ball exposure. It isn't a gated neighborhood, and club membership is its own decision, separate from buying the house. My full Moores Mill neighborhood guide covers the streets and phases in detail.
Yarbrough Farms
Yarbrough Farms is a golf course neighborhood off North Donahue Drive, bordering the 10th fairway of the Auburn University Club course. Construction began in 2007, so many homes are approaching two decades old, and roofs, HVAC systems and water heaters are worth asking about. Lot position matters here, since a course-backing lot changes your views, traffic and insurance. HOA coverage and costs vary by address, so I confirm them in the current documents for each home. Here's my Yarbrough Farms neighborhood guide.
Cary Woods
Cary Woods is an in-town neighborhood inside Auburn city limits, close to downtown and campus. That location is the draw, and it also means the university calendar shapes traffic and weekends. Home age and style vary by address, so I pull the county parcel record for each house and check it against the seller's disclosure. How walkable a particular home is depends on the street, so I check the route for each one. I cover it street by street in my Cary Woods neighborhood guide.
Lake Martin communities to know
The Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS® describes Lake Martin as an Alabama Power reservoir covering 44,000 acres with more than 880 miles of shoreline, approximately 115 miles southwest of Atlanta. The association's list of lake communities runs long; here are several to consider:
- Willow Point: On the Alexander City side of the lake. Developed by Russell Lands and built around Willow Point Golf & Country Club, with golf and a clubhouse. Confirm boat-slip or marina access for the specific property. Expect a mix of established lake homes and large custom rebuilds.
- The Ridge: A Russell Lands community. Gate access, marina access and the age of the homes vary, so I confirm them for each property.
- Trillium: Another Russell Lands community. As with The Ridge, I confirm location, gate access and construction details for each property.
- StillWaters: On the Dadeville side. Its residential association describes a gated entrance, a community service patrol, Pineview Pool and a tennis and pickleball court, with a golf course, restaurant, marina and boat storage that the association doesn't own or manage. You'll find homes, condos and lots inside it.
- Windermere, Raintree and Pace's Peninsula: More communities from the association's list. Gates, community docks, home age and water depth vary from street to street, so I check each lot on its own.
Water depth is the line item I watch hardest. Alabama Power says that Martin is one of its storage lakes, with different summer and winter pool levels, drawn down late fall into the winter and normally returned to summer pool in the spring. So a shallow cove lot that looks perfect in July can have much less water at the dock in winter, and I check depth at winter pool, not just in summer. In my experience, a lot on open, deeper water with a usable dock year-round is what separates one lake listing from the next, even inside the same community.
For my fuller take on each community, start with my guide to the best Lake Martin communities. For public lake time, Alabama State Parks says Wind Creek State Park has one of the largest state-operated campgrounds in the country, with 586 campsites, 157 of them waterfront.
Broad market context: Auburn and Lake Martin in July
Per the Lee County Association of REALTORS®, Auburn's residential median sold price was $494,087 in July 2026, up from $431,625 in July 2025. By our math, that's a gain of about 14.5%. The average sold price was $543,162, compared with $471,966 a year earlier.
Around the lake, the Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS® July 2026 report shows waterfront residential sales averaging $983,549 across 36 sales, down from $1,462,465 across 36 sales in July 2025. Homes not on the water averaged $271,944 across 39 sales, versus $306,506 across 27 sales a year earlier. By our math, the waterfront average was roughly three and a half times the off-water average in July 2026 and nearly five times it in July 2025.
Chart 1. Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS® average residential sale price, waterfront vs not waterfront, July 2025 vs July 2026. Source: Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®, monthly residential statistics, July 2026 vs July 2025.
These are association-wide averages covering towns and lake communities together, and with about three dozen waterfront sales in a month, a couple of big closings can move the number a lot.
Figures are closed data for Auburn and for the Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS® reporting area as of July 2026, from the Lee County Association of REALTORS® monthly housing statistics and the Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®. Market conditions change and past figures are not a prediction. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed; readers should independently verify.
What to check before you buy in either market
A high price tag tends to come with more moving parts. These are the ones I'd put on your list in Auburn or at the lake.
Governing documents and dues
Ask for the declaration, covenants, any amendments, the current dues schedule and any mandatory club or amenity membership. Dues and memberships can change your monthly number more than a small difference in price.
StillWaters is a useful example because its association posts the details. Its FAQ says the 1987 covenants allow the board to set a $100 annual assessment, approved each year. A past manager's message reported the board raising the annual fee from $433 to $471, and notes the fee can only rise each year by the cost-of-living percentage, so treat that as a dated example, not this year's dues. For every other community, ask for the current documents before you write an offer.
Docks and shoreline work
Alabama Power's Lakeshore Use Permit page says that if you wish to repair, build or modify anything in either the lakebed or the Alabama Power flood easement, you need a permit granting approval. Before you fall for a lot because of the dock or boathouse you plan to build, confirm with Alabama Power's shoreline management office what that specific lot allows.
Your property tax class
The Alabama Department of Revenue explains the assessment classes: Class III single-family owner-occupied property is assessed at 10% of appraised value, and Class II, "all property not otherwise classified," at 20%. Its worked example takes a $100,000 appraised home to $10,000 assessed, then applies 32.5 mills for a $325 tax bill. If a lake house will be a second home or a rental, ask the county revenue office which class applies before you budget.
ADOR's homestead exemption page lists, for owners under 65, up to $4,000 of assessed value off state taxes and up to $2,000 off county taxes, on no more than 160 acres. You have to live in the home as your primary residence on the first day of the tax year. By my math, that $4,000 state exemption equals the first $40,000 of appraised value at the 10% ratio.
Flood maps and insurance
Look up the parcel on FEMA's flood map, then get both homeowner and flood insurance quotes before closing, not after. On waterfront property, that quote can move your budget.
Local rules change. Confirm current requirements with Alabama Power and the county before relying on anything here. This is not legal advice.
If you're selling at the top of the market
If you own one of the homes this post is about, pricing is where the work starts. My post on selling a luxury home in Auburn or on Lake Martin covers how I market homes at the upper end. And if your buyer is coming from a bigger city, my cost of living comparison of Auburn, Atlanta and Birmingham is a good one to share.
I'm Amy Cotney, a REALTOR® with Roots Real Estate - Investment Development in Auburn and a Certified Interior Decorator, which sharpens how I look at finish, flow and staging in a high-end home. I build strong relationships that lead to sold homes and happy buyers, through communication, not automation. If you want closed-sale comps for a specific Auburn neighborhood or Lake Martin community, you can learn more about me and reach out here, or call or text (334) 332-4002.
Sources
- Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®, Meet LMAAR (lake facts and communities served): https://www.lmaar.org/meetlmaar
- StillWaters Residential Association, SWRA FAQs: https://stillwatersra.com/swra-faqs/
- StillWaters Residential Association, Manager's Message: https://stillwatersra.com/managers-message/
- Alabama State Parks, Wind Creek State Park camping: https://www.alapark.com/parks/wind-creek-state-park/camping
- Alabama Department of Revenue, Property Tax Assessment: https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/property-tax/property-tax-assessment/
- Alabama Department of Revenue, Homestead Exemptions: https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/property-tax/homestead-exemptions/
- Alabama Power Shorelines, Lake Martin lake level and dam: https://apcshorelines.com/lake/martin/
- Alabama Power Shorelines, Lakeshore Use Permit Request: https://apcshorelines.com/permits/
- Lee County Association of REALTORS®, July 2026 housing stats, Auburn section (published August 10, 2026)
- Lake Martin Area Association of REALTORS®, monthly residential statistics, July 2026 vs July 2025
