Rob Zelem
Zelem Real Estate at LPT Realty
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The Preserve at Kitchin Farms Guide

The Preserve at Kitchin Farms, Wake Forest, NC: The Honest Neighborhood Guide

The short answer

The Preserve at Kitchin Farms is a nearly new Mungo Homes neighborhood in southwest Wake Forest, built on a former dairy farm off Burlington Mills Road. It mixes Charleston-style townhomes and patio homes on Kitchin Farms Way with larger single-family homes on streets like Thurman Dairy Loop, and it wraps them around a preserved natural area with a pool, cabana, and direct access to the Smith Creek Greenway. New-home sales have wrapped up, so buying here now means shopping resales, typically from the mid $400s to the mid $600s and up (Source: Coldwell Banker Advantage community listings, October 2026). The honest tradeoffs: lots are small, the HOA runs about $90 a month, and the assigned schools carry mid-range published ratings. If you want a nearly new home, real amenities, and greenway access without a builder wait, Kitchin Farms is one of the easiest yeses on the south side of Wake Forest. If you want land, privacy, or the Heritage school assignment, look elsewhere.

Where it is

Kitchin Farms sits in southwest Wake Forest (27587), reached from US-1/Capital Boulevard by turning onto Burlington Mills Road just north of I-540; the neighborhood entrance is about a mile in. That puts you minutes from I-540 for the Raleigh and RTP commute, close to the shopping and dining along Capital Boulevard, and a short drive north into downtown Wake Forest. Mungo Homes marketed the location as 13 miles from Raleigh and a little over 20 minutes from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (Source: Mungo Homes). The setting is the draw: the community was designed around the old farm property, with the Neuse River Trail and Smith Creek Greenway within walking distance (Source: Mungo Homes).

What the homes are like

Everything here is recent construction by Mungo Homes, mostly built in 2023 and 2024, in farmhouse, Charleston, and Craftsman styles with fiber cement and HardiPlank exteriors, covered porches, and sidewalk-lined streets. Mungo offered floor plans from about 1,700 to more than 4,200 square feet across five collections, including dual porches, owner suites up or down, over-the-garage living spaces, and patio homes with covered sitting areas (Source: NewHomeSource and Mungo Homes). In practice, the townhomes and patio homes on Kitchin Farms Way run smaller (roughly 1,850 to 2,100 square feet) on lots around a tenth of an acre, while the single-family homes on Thurman Dairy Loop run larger, up to about 4,400 square feet (Source: recent MLS listings via ERA, Movoto, and Coldwell Banker Advantage, October 2026).

Because the builder has finished selling, this is now a resale market, and a thin one. Coldwell Banker Advantage showed just 4 active listings in the community in late October 2026, priced from $444,900 to $650,000, averaging about $597,725 and about $166 per square foot, with an average of about 70 days on market (Source: Coldwell Banker Advantage, October 2026). A larger cul-de-sac home on Kitchin Farms Way closed at $725,000, so the top of the market reaches higher than the current listings suggest (Source: Doorify MLS via IDX Broker). Thin inventory cuts both ways: sellers face little in-neighborhood competition, and buyers may need patience to catch the floor plan they want.

The schools

Kitchin Farms is assigned to Sanford Creek Elementary (6/10), Wake Forest Middle (4/10), and Wake Forest High (7/10), per GreatSchools ratings as shown on Redfin and Zillow in October 2026. Every recent MLS listing for the neighborhood shows the same trio, so the assignment is consistent across the community. Be aware that Mungo's original marketing named different schools (Richland Creek Elementary and Heritage High); the MLS assignment is Sanford Creek, Wake Forest Middle, and Wake Forest High, and that is the one to plan around. Published ratings are one input; the NC School Report Cards publish the underlying data for each school. Verify the assignment for any specific address with Wake County Public Schools before you buy, since boundaries do change.

Amenities and the HOA: the honest breakdown

The amenity package punches above the neighborhood's size: a pool and cabana, an outdoor fireplace, a grilling station, hammocks, a tot lot and playground, and cornhole, plus the Kitchin Farms Preserve itself, a natural area with fishing, canoeing, and hiking, and direct access to the Smith Creek Greenway (Source: NewHomeSource and Mungo Homes). MLS listings also list a clubhouse among the HOA amenities. The historic bones are real, too: the community was designed with a nod to its dairy farm past, keeping references to the 19th-century tobacco barn and smokehouse, the dairy farm, and the original Kitchin home (Source: Mungo Homes).

The cost: recent MLS listings consistently show HOA dues of $90 per month, with one listing at $99 per month, managed by Real Management, plus a one-time $180 additional fee shown in one listing (Source: Doorify MLS listings, 2024 to 2026). That is roughly $1,080 a year for the pool, cabana, playground, and grounds maintenance. Reasonable for what you get, but it is a fixed monthly cost on top of a small-lot home, and dues can change once the HOA is fully homeowner controlled. Confirm the current dues and exactly what they cover before you write an offer.

Who Kitchin Farms is perfect for

  • Buyers who want a nearly new home without a builder contract, design center, or construction wait
  • Greenway people: Smith Creek Greenway access and the preserve are the lifestyle here
  • Move-up and move-down buyers who want a pool and amenities without a mega-community
  • Commuters who want I-540 and US-1 close, on the south side of Wake Forest near Raleigh

Who should think twice

  • Buyers who want a big lot or real privacy: most lots are around a tenth of an acre, and the larger single-family lots are still modest
  • School-first buyers: the assigned trio is mid-pack for Wake Forest, and Wake Forest Middle rates 4/10
  • Buyers who need choices right now: with only a handful of resales at a time, the right floor plan may not be available when you are
  • Anyone who hates HOA dues: about $90 a month is modest, but it is forever

The bottom line

Kitchin Farms is what Wake Forest buyers keep asking for: nearly new construction, a real amenity set, greenway access, and a farm-to-neighborhood story that gives it more character than the average subdivision, all on the Raleigh side of town. The fine print is small lots, a $90 monthly HOA, mid-range published school ratings, and thin resale inventory. If the lifestyle fits, the move is to be ready when the right resale hits, because there are never many to choose from.

Thinking about Kitchin Farms? Resales here come up a few at a time and the good ones go first. Contact Zelem Real Estate at LPT Realty at (919) 906-3793 and I'll keep you posted on what is actually available, including the floor plans worth waiting for.

Numbers: Sanford Creek Elementary 6/10, Wake Forest Middle 4/10, Wake Forest High 7/10 (GreatSchools ratings as shown on Redfin and Zillow, October 2026). School assignment (Sanford Creek Elementary, Wake Forest Middle, Wake Forest High) per recent Doorify MLS listings for Kitchin Farms addresses; Mungo Homes marketing named Richland Creek Elementary and Heritage High instead, so verify any specific address with Wake County Public Schools. Active listing figures: 4 listings, $444,900 to $650,000, average list price about $597,725, average about $166 per square foot, average about 70 days on market (Coldwell Banker Advantage community page, October 2026). One closed sale at $725,000 (9349 Kitchin Farms Way, Doorify MLS via IDX Broker). HOA dues of $90/month in most recent listings, $99/month in one, plus a one-time $180 fee in one listing (Doorify MLS, Real Management). Floor plan range of about 1,700 to 4,200+ square feet across five collections (NewHomeSource). Builder's new-home sales office is closed and the Mungo community page has been removed, consistent with the neighborhood being built out; treat all buying here as resale. Prices, dues, and ratings change; verify for any specific home.