The question comes down to cash flow and financing, limiting pricing options. the total price of ownership includes the bond (sometimes verbally invisible), but some discussions are about cashflow, cash cost versus price. Cash flow wise, which includes the cost of money, irrespective of the total price, the home owner has the option to pay off the bond which is a much smaller chunk of the total price, which can reduce the monthly payment in total or the monthly carrying cost. The decision comes down to cash available for purchasing the property, and the future cash flow requirements, which have limitations.
Enough cash, why bother with paying the monthly cash rental fee on the bond. Not enough cash to pay off the bond without a savings or life style impact, then the cash flow and monthly cost becomes a more dominant decision point.
The point is that price and cost are two different points of view, one is the seller, price, the other is the buyer, cost, which includes cash lost or cash financing or monthly rental fee of money, including the bond..
Within the villages, new build cost = land (fixed) + build (variable) + bond (fixed). Resale = ALL negotiated price with embedded bond variable balance. The older the house, the less bond, but currently more desirable location depending upon personality and goals, and usually more negotiable, subject to one's ability to calculate and negotiate a relatively fair market value.
So, now that the purchase combinations are many, hundreds of options of new versus resale at any point in time, in deciding how to move to the villages, and the buyers cash flow ability, is usually fixed. So picking on bond as a decision point is a
behavioral bias of attribution: (attributing the decision to one variable while excluding many others, such as location including view, location to amenities, cash flow, house plan, usage - homestead or snow bird, future lottery winnings
(future income) , patience by relying on negotiation (flexibility), etc)
A reader of my posts may realize that I mention behavioral biases a lot, because they run our lives, whether people realize it or not. And people's reactions, posts and decisions all reflect their biases, part of one's personality and viewpoints, and usually limited to themselves, but projected onto others. And with money, there are many complex issues, some quantifiable, mostly behavioral.
Time to get outside!
sportsguy's crappy opinion