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Originally Posted by LoriAnn
None of this is new. I've purchased a home when The Villages was in a downturn and sold in an up-market twice. There was a time that nearly all new builds were discounted. One thing is for sure, the developer never suffered even in a down market. They watch for the smallest sign of sales decreasing and they take action to boost sales. They have discounted prices, added incentives and focused on building less expensive homes to meet the market in the past. They used to include all appliances including washer and dryer and had furniture packages. They took things away one at a time to lower prices to meet the market demand. The last 2 market downturns developed the same way. New homes sales decreased, and The Villages started lowering prices to keep their quota up. Eventually, you could buy a new home for the same price or just a little more than a new home. Resales started to suffer because people bought new homes instead and the market became flooded with resales. Then the prices of resales stated to plummet. It started with people who had to sell and investors who couldn't cover their expenses. The entire resale market was eventually affected. I've seen it happen two times and it will happen again. It recovered both times and it will cycle again. I'm always amused when people think The Villages is immune to market downturns. It's clear they haven't been around very long.
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Yes, that is what happened in past years. This time, there are several new factors that are coming into play. Interest rates are much higher, prices of homes have soared, and amenities are lacking. Everywhere I go, it is crowded.
After the Covid lockdown, we had a large influx of younger residents. Will this continue or have they been forced back to their home offices?
This is the first time I have seen the developer working on 3 town centers simultaneously: East Port, Middleton, and the revitalization of Spanish Springs. This makes me wonder how all the store fronts and office space are going to get filled. It took years for Brownwood to reach full merchant capacity.
Outside building is booming. Apartments, town homes, homes, you name it! They are popping up everywhere. It won't be long before a 55+ community offering something unique will come along.
The prison is on federal land. Now that a city is being built, will they keep the prison? Or, will they build something different? It is their land. They can do as they please.
The times are a changing.....