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Originally Posted by margaretmattson
I have been in the market for a new home for over 6 months. I was beginning to believe it was just me! Yes, I agree, the quality of newly constructed homes is not worth the price. I am now beginning a search of preowned homes. So far, it seems you get more for your money. Location, at this time, is also better with preowned homes. As the Villages develop further this may no longer be the case. But, I'm not getting any younger! Not certain I have the time to wait.
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My husband and I purchased a new courtyard villa in south St. Johns in May of 2022. At the time of our home purchase compared to now, inventory of both new and pre-owned homes were very low and we consider ourselves lucky to have been able to purchase our home. Our friends sold their home in Apollo Beach, FL this past June and following closing secured a rental in The Villages to move into while they searched for a new home. The 2nd or 3rd day our friends were here a model home they liked in their price range was listed for sale in Newell. After seeing the listing they called their Villages agent, and since there were no other interested buyers they had no difficulty in purchasing that home and moved into their new home a few days ago. So I am hard pressed to believe with a much larger inventory of new homes for sale since we purchased our new home in 2022 that you have had difficulty in purchasing a new home in the last 6 months.
With regards to your comment "the quality of newly constructed homes is not worth the price", my husband who worked in various home construction positions during his 50 years in the workforce with last position being a kitchen and bath designer, he found nothing wrong with the quality of the construction of our new home. And our friends that just bought in Newell, the husband is a retired master plumber and he also found nothing wrong with the quality of the construction of the home they purchased. And additionally, the small things we did find after moving into our new home The Villages sent someone over to repair them within a day of our call. And just before we reached the 1 year anniversary of the purchase of our home we had D'Angelo Inspections come in and they inspected our home with a fine tooth comb and they found nothing wrong with the quality of construction of our new home contained in the 12 page inspection report they provided to us and a copy was sent to The Villages warranty dept.
Other than investors, most people who purchase a home in The Villages either for full time or part time use are purchasing primarily for the lifestyle The Villages offers which there really is no equivalent compared to all other 55+ communities. And as long as The Villages remains in 1st place with the abundance of amenities it offers they as well as individual home owners that decide to sell for whatever reason, all homes will continue to sell without making major price reductions if they were priced right in the 1st place to those who are willingly to pay the price for the homes. Certainly one can get more bang for their buck buying in another community, but they will not get the same level of amenities in another community which for these individuals the home they buy is more important than the amenities of the community they buy in.
From the experience my friends just had in the purchase within a few days of their new home in Newell, for you having no success in the 6 months you have attempted trying to buy a new home, you either do not have a very good agent, or there are no new homes for sale you like that are in your price range. Not sure if you will have any better luck looking at pre-owned homes because those that are enhanced will likely be priced higher than a same model new home because of those costly enhancements. And those that are not enhanced cosmetically as well as may also be in need major repairs like new roofs the cost for those enhancements and repairs will fall on you. So after all is said and done, the total costs involved with that fixer upper pre-owned home may cost you equal to or more than what a same model new home costs.
I wish you the best in your pursuit of purchasing a home here. We have absolutely no regrets selling our home in R.I. and relocating to The Villages as full time residents. We love our home, neighborhood, have the best neighbors, and are living an active retirement lifestyle and consider ourselves very blessed and more so now having dear friends of many years from back home living a 10 minute golf cart ride from us.