[Villages Kahuna]

It's really hard to be precise. There's the price of the lot, the house price and the upgrades. The assessment is subjective to a degree. But I rode around a couple of mornings to look at a few of the new models being advertised in The Daily Sun. I was selective and looked only at my model and another very much like it. Based on the location, model and upgrades I saw, I'm convinced that I could sell my house, including the cost of all the upgrades we've added in two years, for a modest profit over our total investment. If I'm off by a bit, I'm sure we wouldn't lose money.

My assessment is consistent with the statistics that Mark Morse presented at a VHA meeting in early May. He went over the house sales for the last several years and presented his calculations on the average increase in house prices over various periods of time. Those who purchased homes in TV 5-6-7 years ago would have made an excellent return, regardless of when they sold. Even people like me would have made an annual return in the low single digits, as I recall his presentation. He also said that the "bottom" was reached in TV last year and prices are now on their way up. I'd agree with that.