Buying in Sterling Ranch (Battle Ground, WA): D.R. Horton Homes With Three-Car Garages on the North Side

Sterling Ranch is an 84-lot D.R. Horton community on Battle Ground's north side, on NW 28th Street, NW 29th Way, NW 30th Street and NW 3rd Avenue. It's inside the City of Battle Ground, about two miles north of Main Street, and every home is a two-story Express Series plan of roughly 2,100 to 2,400 square feet with a three-car garage. Seven homes are listed, from $561,995.

It suits buyers who want more room and garage space than most new homes under $600,000 in Clark County offer, with in-town schools, groceries five minutes away and Battle Ground Lake State Park six minutes up the road. This guide covers the plans and homes for sale, the current rate and price offers, the schools, the HOA, what owning here costs, and what we'd check before writing an offer.

Community overview

Builder: D.R. Horton (Express Series) Location: NW 28th St, NW 29th Way, NW 30th St, NW 3rd Ave, NW 4th Ave and NW 27th Way, north Battle Ground; City of Battle Ground jurisdiction (as of October 2026) Status: Now selling (October 2026) Pricing: Homes listed from $561,995 to $592,995; plans from $561,995 (October 2026) Home sizes: 2,097 to 2,377 sq ft, 3 to 5 bedrooms, all two-story with three-car garages (October 2026) Homesites: 84 lots across the NW 30th Street Phase 1 and Phase 2 plats, recorded July and October 2024; 52 lots have passed to owners and 32 are still held by D.R. Horton (October 2026) Lots: About 4,900 to 11,300 sq ft, most between 5,000 and 6,800 sq ft (October 2026) HOA: $86 a month, per current listings (October 2026) Schools: Battle Ground Public Schools: Captain Strong Primary, Chief Umtuch Middle, Battle Ground High (October 2026) Sales office: 174 NW 29th Way, Battle Ground, WA 98604; Friday through Tuesday 11 to 6 (October 2026)

The homes

D.R. Horton shows four plans at Sterling Ranch, all two stories with a three-car garage. Each home gets either a modern or a farmhouse interior package:

• Hawthorne: 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 2,097 sq ft, from $561,995. A mud room by the entry, a walk-in pantry, quartz counters and an electric fireplace on the main floor; a loft, the laundry room and the bedrooms upstairs.
• Sellwood: 4 bed, 2.5 bath, 2,230 sq ft, from $571,995. A covered front porch, a kitchen island with a breakfast bar, a full pantry and a covered patio off the dining area. The fourth bedroom upstairs is oversized and works as a bonus room.
• Cambridge: 4 bed, 2.5 bath plus a bonus room, 2,377 sq ft, from $586,995. The newest plan here, with a jumbo pantry, a kitchen island with seating and a large bonus room upstairs.
• Wellington: 5 bed, 2.75 bath, 2,270 sq ft, price not published yet. The one plan with a bedroom and three-quarter bath on the main floor, off a two-story entry, with four more bedrooms upstairs.

D.R. Horton's walkthrough of the Cambridge, filmed for its South Washington division:

What's included: quartz counters, shaker-style cabinets, stainless appliances, laminate flooring on the main level, an electric fireplace, a covered patio, a fenced backyard with irrigated front landscaping, D.R. Horton's smart-home package (lights, thermostat and doorbell), and a 10-year limited warranty. Listings for the Hawthorne and Sellwood homes add a garage that's ready for a Level 2 EV charger. Listings describe the homes as all-electric, with a heat pump for heating and central air.

Homes for sale now:

Address	Plan	Beds / baths	Sq ft	Price	Was
2708 NW 3rd Ave	Hawthorne	3 / 2.5	2,097	$561,995	$567,995
234 NW 28th St	Hawthorne	3 / 2.5	2,097	$567,995
369 NW 30th St	Hawthorne	3 / 2.5	2,097	$567,995
217 NW 28th St	Hawthorne	3 / 2.5	2,097	$571,995	$577,995
2806 NW 3rd Ave	Sellwood	4 / 2.5	2,230	$571,995	$577,995
221 NW 28th St	Cambridge	4 / 2.5 + bonus	2,377	$586,995	$592,995
361 NW 30th St	Cambridge	4 / 2.5 + bonus	2,377	$592,995

Two more homes, 345 NW 30th St (Cambridge) and 357 NW 30th St (Sellwood), are under contract. The builder's page doesn't show ready dates. The MLS listing for 234 NW 28th St shows it built in 2026 and on the market for 122 days; we'll find out from the sales office which homes are finished and which are still under construction. 217 NW 28th St sits across from the community's pocket park and playground.

Current incentives: Sterling Ranch is part of D.R. Horton's Red Tag Event, which cuts prices on select homes through November 1, 2026; four of the seven listed homes show a $6,000 reduction. Separately, D.R. Horton is offering a fixed rate through DHI Mortgage, its affiliated lender, on certain homes: 5.500% (6.362% APR) on a 30-year FHA loan with 3.5% down, or 5.750% (6.170% APR) on a 30-year conventional loan with 5% down. You need to sign on or after September 9 and close by October 30, 2026. The rate requires financing through DHI Mortgage, may require paying points, and isn't available to every borrower, so we'd compare the total cost against an outside lender's quote over the years you expect to keep the loan.

The builder

D.R. Horton, based in Arlington, Texas, has been the largest homebuilder in the country by volume for 24 years running; it closed nearly 85,000 homes in fiscal 2025. Sterling Ranch is part of its Express Series, the company's value line, launched in 2014 around a short list of options, so the home you tour is close to the home you get. The published warranty is a 10-year limited builder warranty; D.R. Horton's general warranty overview describes one year on workmanship and materials, two years on major systems and ten on structural items. Let us know you're interested and we'll get the Washington warranty booklet from the sales office before you sign.

In Clark County, D.R. Horton also builds Kunze Farms and Kunze Farms Townhomes near Vancouver Mall, Oakpointe Crossing, Fircrest Landing and Fisher's Creek Terrace in east Vancouver, and Cascade Terrace with a Camas address. Four Creeks in Ridgefield and 119th Street Station are coming soon.

Schools

Clark County's attendance-area maps place every lot in Sterling Ranch in the same three Battle Ground Public Schools, and the builder's page agrees:

School	Grades	Students (2025-26)	Drive from the sales office
Captain Strong Primary, 1002 NW 6th Ave	PK–4	663	5 minutes (1.6 mi)
Chief Umtuch Middle, 700 NW 9th St	5–8	562	5 minutes (1.6 mi)
Battle Ground High, 300 W Main St	9–12	1,767	5 minutes (1.6 mi)

Drive times are in free-flowing traffic. Captain Strong and Chief Umtuch share a campus on the northwest side of town, which keeps drop-off to one stop for families with kids in both.

We didn't find boundary changes for 2026-27. Battle Ground Public Schools' operations levy failed in April 2025 and again in February 2026, and a new levy, Proposition 11, is on the November 3, 2026 ballot at about $1.76 per $1,000 of assessed value. Tell us which home you're considering and we'll confirm the assigned schools with the district before you write an offer.

Inside the community

Sterling Ranch has a pocket park with a private playground and greenspace, which D.R. Horton lists alongside the HOA as the community's amenities. There's no clubhouse, pool or gate. Every home comes with a fenced backyard and a covered patio, and the builder describes a flat road with sidewalks running about two miles into the restaurants, coffee shops and groceries near Main Street.

HOA dues are $86 a month, per current listings. County records show the HOA (registered as NW 30th Street HOA) owns twelve tracts in the plat, including one of nearly two acres. The management company, the CC&Rs and the budget aren't published online. We'd ask for the HOA documents before you commit, including the rules on fences, parking, RVs and rentals, and what the tracts are used for.

Parks and outdoors nearby

• Whispering Pines Park: 2 minutes, about three-quarters of a mile
• Dublin Meadows Park: 3 minutes
• Battle Ground Lake State Park: 6 minutes. D.R. Horton's pitch for the three-car garage here is room for a kayak; the lake has paddling, trails for hiking and biking, and camping.
• Lewisville Regional Park: 8 minutes. Clark County's oldest park, 159 acres along the East Fork Lewis River with a 2.8-mile trail, picnic shelters, playgrounds and a ballfield. Parking is $5 a day or $30 a year for a pass that covers four regional parks; one picnic area is closed after a shelter fire in May.
• Fairgrounds Park: 5 minutes
• Kiwanis Park: 6 minutes
• Tukes Mountain Park: 8 minutes

Getting around

Drive times from the sales office in free-flowing traffic; rush hour adds time, especially at the bridges. Most trips south start on SR-503 (NW 10th Avenue), about a mile and a half from the neighborhood.

• I-5 at NE 219th St (SR-502): 13 minutes
• I-205 via SR-503: 20 minutes
• Interstate Bridge (I-5): 28 minutes
• Glenn Jackson Bridge (I-205): 31 minutes
• Downtown Vancouver: 30 minutes
• PDX: 34 minutes
• Downtown Portland: 42 minutes
• Transit: Sterling Ranch is inside C-TRAN's service area, and Route 47 (Battle Ground/Yacolt) runs within a mile, but we didn't find a stop within walking distance. Ask us and we'll check current C-TRAN routes and schedules for your commute.

Daily life

• Groceries: Fred Meyer (5 minutes), Battle Ground Produce Co. (5), Safeway on W Main St (6), Albertsons (6), Walmart Supercenter (7)
• Coffee and dining: Earthen Cup Bistro (4 minutes), Dev's Coffee Bar (5), Starbucks and Dutch Bros near Main St (5); the builder also points to Barrel Mountain Brewing and Margarita Factory, both under two miles away
• Fitness: Snap Fitness Battle Ground, about 2.8 miles
• Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente Battle Ground (5 minutes), Rose Urgent Care (5), The Vancouver Clinic Battle Ground (6), Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center's hospital and ER (21), PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center (26)

What it costs to own

• Jurisdiction: City of Battle Ground. Police service is the Battle Ground Police Department, fire service is Clark Fire District 3, and land use and streets are the city's.
• Utilities: Battle Ground water and public sewer; Clark Public Utilities for power. The homes are all-electric with a heat pump.
• Property tax: the 2026 levy for this tax code area is $6.378 per $1,000 of assessed value, about $3,640 a year on a $570,000 assessment. Listings show a partial-year figure while the homes are new; budget for the full amount. If Proposition 11 passes in November, add the levy rate the district publishes.
• HOA: $86 a month.
• Impact fees: paid by the builder at permit and built into the price. In Battle Ground for 2026 that's $10,760 for schools, $4,538 for parks, $3,943 for traffic, $21,923 for water and sewer connections and $1,019 for fire. Our custom homes guide compares fees across the county.

What's changing nearby

The biggest change is inside Sterling Ranch itself. County records show D.R. Horton still holds 32 of the 84 lots, and nine of those are on the builder's page as listed or under contract, so roughly two dozen more homes are still to be built or closed. The Wellington plan doesn't have a price yet; if it interests you, we'll find out which lots it will be offered on. About half a mile west, Aho Construction's River Bend is also selling. We didn't find city road projects or commercial development planned next to the neighborhood.

What to check before you buy

• Construction around you. With about two dozen homes still to come, tell us which homes you like and we'll check which nearby lots are still empty and when they're scheduled, so you can pick a home away from the active streets if quiet matters to you.
• Drainage and yard slope. County soil maps show parts of the plat on Hockinson loam, a poorly drained soil, and slopes of 5 to 15 percent along parts of NW 29th Way and NW 3rd Avenue. The area sits outside the FEMA flood zone. Walk the lot after a rain; we'll ask how the yard is graded away from the house and have your inspector look at the drainage.
• The rate offer and its deadline. The DHI Mortgage rate needs a closing by October 30, 2026, which works best on a finished home. Compare it, with any points, against an outside lender's quote, and we'll confirm with D.R. Horton whether it can be combined with the Red Tag price.
• Price history. The current cuts are $6,000, and 234 NW 28th St has been listed for 122 days. That's room to talk about closing costs or options alongside price.
• The school for your address. The county maps put the whole plat in Captain Strong, Chief Umtuch and Battle Ground High. We'll confirm with Battle Ground Public Schools for your address before you write an offer; keep the November levy vote in mind when you budget.
• The HOA documents. The dues come from listings, not published documents. Reach out and we'll request the CC&Rs, the budget and the management contact.
• Inspections. New homes still have defects. A licensed inspector before closing, and again before the warranty's first year ends, keeps fixes on the builder.

How we help here

At Sterling Ranch we start with the seven homes listed and the two dozen lots still to come. We compare each listed home's price and days on market, and we walk the plat with you to see which lots face the pocket park, which sit on the slope, and which streets will see construction next. With the DHI Mortgage rate tied to an October 30 closing and the Red Tag pricing running to November 1, we run the builder's rate against outside quotes so you can see which costs less over the time you plan to own. We confirm the school with Battle Ground Public Schools, get the HOA documents in front of you before you commit, and coordinate the licensed inspections before closing and before the first-year warranty walk-through. Our construction background means we know what to look at in a production home, from grading to the garage slab, before you sign off on it.

Before you commit to anything, you'll have a written Engagement Proposal with the exact scope and fee.

Also looking in Battle Ground? See River Bend next door, Beverly from LGI Homes, Walker Field from New Tradition Homes, and the full Battle Ground new-construction page.