Esplanade at Highland Ranch vs Kings Ridge

Two Very Different Value Propositions in the Same Zip Code

Both communities sit in Clermont, Lake County — one of Central Florida's lowest-tax, highest-elevation retirement corridors — but they compete for genuinely different buyers. Esplanade at Highland Ranch is Taylor Morrison's premium, newer-construction offering (built 2014–2022): 475 single-family homes on 579 acres, with natural gas service as its signature differentiator in an otherwise all-electric Florida market. Kings Ridge is an established, fully built-out community from the late 1990s: 2,088 homes across 15 sub-neighborhoods, anchored by two 18-hole golf courses included in the HOA.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Which Community Fits Which Buyer

• Choose Esplanade at Highland Ranch if: you want newer construction, a gas range and gas fireplace option, more generous lot sizes, and don't need golf as part of your daily life.
• Choose Kings Ridge if: regular golf access is a top priority and you want it bundled into the HOA rather than paid as a separate membership, and you're comfortable with an older, fully established resale-only community.

Both communities benefit from the same Lake County advantage — the lowest effective property tax rate in the Orlando metro and real elevation-driven terrain variety that's unusual for Central Florida. The decision between them comes down almost entirely to construction era, natural gas, and whether bundled golf is worth trading for a higher HOA and an older housing stock.