Probably the single best place to go for community information and updates are todays real estate blogs. In general, less than 6% of real estate professionals use blogs. Thus a good one is hard to find. Finding a high-quality local blog can be a time consuming but worthwhile effort and one of the best examples I have found is the Decatur Al Real Estate Blog.
Be sure to take notice of the category listings on the blogs home page often times found in a sidebar menu. The first category to take a look at will be the market conditions archive, as these posts will give you a good feel for the quality of the local authors and this category can generally be found on almost all local real estate blogs. Again as an example check out the Decatur Al Real Estate Market archive to get a gist of the quality available on many of these blogs.
A different category that should also be viewed is the subdivision or neighborhood category. These posts should present an assortment neighborhoods within different areas and price ranges. A great example collection of these types of articles can be found within the Decatur Alabama Neighborhoods section of the previously mentioned website.