PDA

View Full Version : Best Time to Buy


spice12725
05-15-2018, 08:23 AM
Is there a better time to buy a house? My husband and I are coming in a few weeks. Is the housing stock lower now? Would it be better to look in the Winter when the "snowbirds" are around?
Thanks!

dewilson58
05-15-2018, 08:30 AM
Best time???.............when you find a house you want.

BobnBev
05-15-2018, 08:33 AM
Snowbirds bring higher prices. Prices seem to drop when they leave, just sayin.:sigh:

Bogie Shooter
05-15-2018, 08:33 AM
Bring your checkbook!

Chatbrat
05-15-2018, 08:38 AM
Buy today, tomorrow is not guaranteed--knew lots of people who waited to do things--never did---"Man makes plans, and God laughs"

billethkid
05-15-2018, 08:39 AM
Pretty safe to assume there is not a bad time. TV is not a typical housing market.

Come when convenient. Buy when you see something you like. Move in as soon as you can!!

Nucky
05-15-2018, 08:45 AM
Do your homework, start shopping around with a MLS agent and Villages Agent. Let them both know about the existence of the other. Competition is good. When you find a house you like move quickly. We lost two before we found the one we bought. If they are in good shape and priced well they go quickly.

l2ridehd
05-15-2018, 08:45 AM
IMHO May through August is the very best time to buy. Especially if you are looking for a resale. New doesn't much matter, you just need to be happy with where they are building.

vintageogauge
05-15-2018, 08:56 AM
We thought May would be a good time after the snowbirds left but not so, we bought last May and there were 77 closings through The Villages sales office that week alone, that is a lot of homes in one week. I believe last year that July had the greatest number of sold units through MLS agents, not 100% sure but I believe I read that on a post here by one of the realtors. I don't think it really matters when you buy, finding the home you want is more important. One thing I did notice this past winter is there are a lot of overpriced for sale by owner units available and then they tend to fade away after the season.

John_W
05-15-2018, 09:04 AM
Is there a better time to buy a house? My husband and I are coming in a few weeks. Is the housing stock lower now? Would it be better to look in the Winter when the "snowbirds" are around?
Thanks!

I would believe as a seller, if I wasn't in a hurry to move, I would wait until at least November to list my home. Supply and demand, more buyers in winter months are going to bring higher prices. With new home sales they usually always have a large inventory except for certain styles, like patio villas or CYV's or cottages, you may find there isn't many available now, but a week's time that could drastically change when a new section opens. However, when a villa section or spec home section nears completion, you will find more homes reduced. However, a bargain for one person is not a bargain for someone else. In today's Sun there is a new designer home for sale in LaBelle, most of us would think LaBelle was finished a long time ago. The home is reduced from $632K to $569K, bargain for some, no bargain for others.

ohiosbestus
05-15-2018, 09:07 AM
For the stats go to Lyle Gant. His site has all the statistics on there That is what we did. We were in the Villages 5 years ago , the same houses we looked at are now about 30,000 dolllars highr today.

spice12725
05-15-2018, 09:24 AM
Thanks, everyone...great advice...very excited (and nervous) about this BIG move!

thetruth
05-15-2018, 09:42 AM
Is there a better time to buy a house? My husband and I are coming in a few weeks. Is the housing stock lower now? Would it be better to look in the Winter when the "snowbirds" are around?
Thanks!

Are you planing on living in the villages full time? Do you need to sell or are planing to sell an existing home? Are you looking new or resale?
You do not say where you are coming from but, you do say you are coming in a few weeks. The summers are hot and humid. We are ex-northerners. Just like cold and snow, eventually it seems normal. I realized my view has changed because palm trees seem normal.
DO YOUR RESEARCH-do not focus that prices are going up-YES THEY ARE but if you have an existing home, it too is going up. Even if less than here, it softens any price rise here. ON A RESALE-if you need or want to buy with a mortgage, realize that you may well bee competing with a CASH offer.
If, you work with a broker-NEVER ALOW YOURSELF THAT THEY ARE SALESPEOPLE AND THEY REPRESENT THE PERSON PAYING THEIR COMMISSION. IF, YOU ARE BUYING THAT IS THE SELLER-NOT YOU.

New Englander
05-15-2018, 10:39 AM
The better time is when you come to visit. Don't forget your checkbook.

vintageogauge
05-15-2018, 10:48 AM
Our Villages Sales agent told us right up front that they represent the seller, they have a contract with them to do just that so it is to be expected.

manaboutown
05-15-2018, 12:45 PM
In my experience there is a season to sell a home just as there is to sell a car.

According to Zillow:

"The best time to sell your home is between May 1 and May 15. Nationally, homes sold in the first half of May sell about 18.5 days faster and for 1 percent more than the average listing. That means an average premium of $1,700 for the seller of a median home."

Now, The Villages, being a Florida retirement 55+ community likely runs somewhat countercyclically to this. If I were a seller I would definitely get my house on the market during snowbird season, in early to mid January as that is when the most potential buyers are around. If I were a buyer I would focus on looking for newly listed homes during the less populous season in The Villages, May - October. Of course a buyer can find a home to buy in TV any time of year as people are moving to other homes in the community (upsizing, downsizing or just relocating), back home, to assisted living or... The main thing as a buyer is to keep your eyes open. To me finding a home is like going fishing where if I do not have my line in the water I am unable to catch a fish. I have both bought the first home I looked at and looked for a year before finding what I wanted at a price I was willing to pay. You just never know.

CFrance
05-15-2018, 01:26 PM
We sold our house in a day the beginning of March. There were two offers from that one day on the market, both over price; both renters down for the season. Two renters we knew in the area bought houses before they left to go back home. Those houses were only on the market a few days. This is only anecdotal on my part. But it seems like the off season would at least give you less competition and more time to make a decision.

The two renters we knew had never been to TV before. They were smitten and made a snap decision. I wonder if that happens a lot during the season.

VApeople
05-15-2018, 01:37 PM
The two renters we knew had never been to TV before. They were smitten and made a snap decision. I wonder if that happens a lot during the season.

We know a very nice couple who came to TV to visit. They were "smitten" with the place and bought a house near us.

A year one of them realized they missed their friends and family so they sold their house in TV and moved back up north.

manaboutown
05-15-2018, 01:45 PM
We sold our house in a day the beginning of March. There were two offers from that one day on the market, both over price; both renters down for the season. Two renters we knew in the area bought houses before they left to go back home. Those houses were only on the market a few days. This is only anecdotal on my part. But it seems like the off season would at least give you less competition and more time to make a decision.

The two renters we knew had never been to TV before. They were smitten and made a snap decision. I wonder if that happens a lot during the season.

I can definitely understand a first time visitor or renter without any previous thought or intention to buy impulsively purchasing a home in TV. While driving there for my first visit I spied a TV water tower standing proud over a sea of golf course grass and was stupified - even before I had an opportunity to drink the Kool-Aid.

CFrance
05-15-2018, 01:49 PM
We know a very nice couple who came to TV to visit. They were "smitten" with the place and bought a house near us.

A year one of them realized they missed their friends and family so they sold their house in TV and moved back up north.
I'm sure that happens. I was speaking to "the best time to house hunt in TV," not if buyers came to regret their snap decisions.

Papa
05-15-2018, 01:58 PM
Is there a better time to buy a house? My husband and I are coming in a few weeks. Is the housing stock lower now? Would it be better to look in the Winter when the "snowbirds" are around?
Thanks!

Bernadette,
Anytime is a good time to buy. You should probably try the Lifestyle visit, at various times of the year. The summers get hot, winters get cold, but not as bad as shoveling snow in cold Michigan.

billethkid
05-15-2018, 05:21 PM
Bernadette,
Anytime is a good time to buy. You should probably try the Lifestyle visit, at various times of the year. The summers get hot, winters get cold, but not as bad as shoveling snow in cold Michigan.

Winter?
4-6 weeks in January.....most years anyway.

Packer Fan
05-15-2018, 07:33 PM
I would say the off season is better, plenty of inventory and less competition. However, pick the house you want and then buy it. Several villages realtors have told me they take vacations in May because it is the slowest month, not sure that is true. You can look at the pending sales on TV website right now and there are a LOT of them... a LOT.

tomwed
05-15-2018, 07:51 PM
Is there a better time to buy a house? My husband and I are coming in a few weeks. Is the housing stock lower now? Would it be better to look in the Winter when the "snowbirds" are around?
Thanks!Do you need to sell your house to buy another?

CFrance
05-16-2018, 07:16 AM
Winter?
4-6 weeks in January.....most years anyway.
Which is, IMO, a nice break. You get to wear your jeans and sometimes dig out that really nifty winter coat you couldn't part with when you moved to Florida.

Chi33
05-16-2018, 07:23 AM
It's probably not based on time rather than what you want and the neighborhood you want to live in. There are very desirable neighborhoods that rarely have something for sale and if they do, they go fast. So, IMHO, best time (after doing a lifestyle program and if you do not find one there) is wait for your pick, since you will have to be in it, and jump quick.

manaboutown
05-16-2018, 08:37 AM
Another thing you might do is find and connect with a Villages agent for VLS listings and a Realtor for MLS listings while you are down. Become as familiar as possible with TV's layout, its housing styles and their pricing. After you decide on what parameters are most important to you provide both the Villages agent and the Realtor your list of wants, must haves, can't stands and so on. Ask them to email you listings that they think you would consider. Be careful in choosing the Villages agent and the Realtor. Be sure they are willing to work with you this way. Some if not most may not be willing to put in the time and effort.

My daughter is moving to Maryland from California. She attended college in Washington, DC and spent a lot of time in Maryland during and after college so she is familiar with the area. She contacted a friend from college who recommended a Realtor. The Realtor emailed my daughter listings to consider. My daughter soon made an offer on one subject to contingencies after the realtor looked at it for her. My daughter then flew over there, checked it out, did her due diligence and will close on it June 15! So, this can work!

NotGolfer
05-16-2018, 12:13 PM
Best time???.............when you find a house you want.

This is true. The market here isn't like what it might be back home. In the midwest it was always late Winter up til about July. Theory was people wanted to get out and about and find something and move before the kids were in school. I don't think that is the case in our community.