Free new golf cart
 

Just got the monthly Vmail from TV, and they are offering a free golf cart to new home purchasers in August and September. Apparently sales are a bit slower than anticipated.

Prices of real estate is becoming over inflated. Nice for us that already own. Maybe The Villages should knock the of their existing new homes by $9,995 and forget the golf cart to stimulate sales.

maybe the word about the condition of the golf courses is getting around

Remember the villages own the golf c art store so that $10,000 cart cost them $6,000 at the most. A friend of mine was a builder up in new york and claims those patio villas they sell $170,000 cost $80,000 at the most so giving away $6,000 not that b ig a deal. Have no idea what profit they make on $500,000 houses.

I'm betting based on the amount of carts that Villages Golf Carts sells here their cost is even lower than 6k. I would also bet that the "free" cart is the absolute base model with no frills.

Look at the new homes for sale and you'll see some that are being discounted $30,000, $40,000, up to $60,000, and they're still not selling. Perhaps throwing in a $10,000 golf cart will move this inventory.

According to the Villages Properties insert in todays paper, there have been 3,010 new homes sold in the past 12 months. I would not call that slow.

I understand sales may be down a bit. But, the average is still @ 450 homes a month, not bad!

This is not the first time the Villages have added incentives for sales. In 2007 my friend purchased a designer in Hadley and received a free golf cart along with $20,000 credit to purchase furniture from Showcase Direct and Southern Lifestyles.

Print the link, Ed.

You guys bought yet?

The choice is either a free golf cart up to $8,000 or a discount on your house price of $8,000. This is only available on a NON discounted house. So I would think you are better off buying one of the many houses that are being discounted by $15,000. or more and buying your own golf cart.

The Villages Vmail - August 2014 - Home

Offer valid August 1 - September 30, 2014, or first 200 certificates, whichever comes first.
New home or villa purchase only.
Cannot be combined with other offers, and homes with existing discounts do not apply

Thanks for the link!

We received $7,000 worth of furniture to purchase our house in 2008. We could either take the furniture or get a discount on the home. Is it possible that this incentive is to help close out the last few homes in neighborhoods that are almost sold out? Possibly homes that are less appealing? Seems like a great incentive to me.

They did overbuild and there are hundreds of empty homes, blocks and blocks in Collier, Hillsboro and south. It is sort of spooky driving through miles of empty homes.

I really think they shot themselves in the foot when they built out all inventory. The sales numbers are certainly off. They previously created a feeling of urgency with sales, which now does not exist.

More concerning to us is the fact that they are reducing the sales price on homes. We could buy a comparable home for much less than we paid. Don't get me wrong, we love our home and feel very fortunate to have been able to design our own. But it is hard to watch the value decrease.

Hopefully they have a good winter and sales activity will increase as well as prices.

We have so much tied up in this home, as we paid cash, it would have been better off in
the S & P 500 for another year. And we would have gotten a free golf cart!

I'm really not all that negative....I just wish we had some equity at this point!

Agree. Sales in The Villages run counter to what most areas experience. Back home, the highest sales were in Summer while the kids are out of school. Here, a lot of people are gone during these months. There are fewer home-buyer visitors. When the weather cools (right about when this incentive expires), sales will likely uptick. Smart marketing by The Villages.

I respectfully disagree with your assessment.

When they are selling about five hundred a month, hundreds of homes is just inventory. I think you had your home built Dot, one of the last ones to be custom built If I remember correctly. You got to choose exactly WHAT you wanted.

A home in our neighborhood in the last month sold for 30 percent more than what was paid for it just over two years ago.

The sales price on any home here varies according to lot mostly and rear privacy. The same model can vary over 100k on just the lot and view, well over 100k in some instances. So you may be comparing apples to your apple pie.

I am told that over a hundred and fifty folks pulled out after the national coverage of that sinkhole. That is how it goes.

I think your investment and ours is very safe.

There are new houses that have been sitting unsold for over a year. They need to get rid of them, so a golf cart incentive is not a bad idea. TV offers incentives whenever they overbuild. Homes purchased prior to the incentives and discounts quickly regain their value, plus a bit more. That is definitely one of the nicer aspects of purchasing here -- home values quickly recover (at least they have in the three market drops that I've seen in past ten years).

When I bought in Nov of 2011 The Villages was offering 7k off of home price for the first 200 to purchase. Sounds like The Villages has been giving discounts for a while, and not a bad thing either. It convinced me to buy.

I want to be clear that I love the Villages and plan to move there in future. I agree with so many that the community is amazing.

But that said when we came across an open house at a retirement community just up the street I was really surprised at how much more house you got for the money. A house with granite counter tops, top notch appliances, hardwood floors, golf course view, pool etc. was going for a LOT less than the smallest house we looked at in the Villages which had a standard view, builder grade appliances, no pool and was much smaller.

So location wise if selecting between those, I would prefer the smaller home in the Villages but with such substantial differences, it made us wonder if the the home prices in the Villages would continue to climb as they had been. It will be interesting to see how things go in future.

We closed on our home - a resale in Gilchrist - at the end of June. We did look at some of the heavily discounted homes both before we bought and since. In most cases, there is an issue with the house.

For example, VNH 210035 is a fully furnished (not minimally furnished) former model Bridgeport. The location is excellent right on a golf course. The house has a beautiful enclosed pool. BUT - there is only a two car garage and from the front bedroom, you are looking directly at the side of your neighbor's house. The current discount is $61,963.

VNH 2240172 is a lovely Gardenia on a corner lot with a golf car garage. BUT the property has a remediated sink hole. The current discount is $21,633.

When we were looking, these are the type of things we found. While the houses that were discounted were new, they were the ones in a neighborhood were all the other homes were sold. Without much effort, we found reasons for the discounts.

The cost to TV is less than $7k

If Rocketman's information is correct the mark up on homes here is really high.
I know a number of people who bought when TV said take it or leave it and after they bought ended up remodeling to their specifications...some spending really big bucks.

The housing market is spotty around the country. However, initially the draw here was the Villages Lifestyle but perhaps that is not enough any longer due to the increase in size and population etc? In my view there has always been a lot of conceit on the part of the developer but then the developer has always found a way to pull a rabbit from a hat.

Do you mean the margin? or the markup?

Hard to tell, construction prices and materials don't usually go down in price over time and I would guess that over time the great teams here who build homes have gotten raises... and any business anywhere is going to get as much as they can for a hot item.

For instance...what pair of athletic shoes, ANYWHERE is really worth over a hundred dollars?? Or Jimmy Chu shoes, I wouldn't pay those prices??? BUT if you can get it...that is what they will sell for.

A home's price is and always will be what someone is willing to pay for it. They have adjusted their prices before...on the Cottages at Lake Sumter Landing. They are savvy business people and I respect them for that.

One factor beyond their control is the housing market up North. We are in the Maryland suburbs West of Washington, DC, which was very hot in 2013 and early 2014. The market has slowed quite a bit with houses on the market for a much longer time period. We are watching the market very closely as we are getting our house ready to sell and become full time Villagers. Real Estate agents we have interviewed have admitted sales are slowing.

Other variables beyond the developer's control are sinkholes, availability of sinkhole insurance, the final tally from the IRS, businesses choosing to locate in The Villages or not, same with restaurants, golf course conditions (to a certain extent), too much traffic, bad publicity, etc.

1Q14 The Villages Housing Market Analysis

By Builder/Metrostudy

According to first-quarter data from Metrostudy of the Villages, Fl housing market new-home sales are picking up pace annually and new-home prices are on the rise displaying increased demand in one of Florida’s top 20 master planned communities. The Villages, part of the larger Orlando area, is rare in its new-home closings often topping existing home closings per quarter as the planned community is designed for aging in place and is newly built with an added 4,000 homes per year. In the first-quarter of 2014, new-home closings fell just shy of existing with 720 new-home sales versus 794 existing closings. The opposite is true of the fourth-quarter of 2013 in which new-home closings slightly topped existing at 862 versus 843. Although total closings fell between 4Q13 and 1Q14, year-over-year closings are moving on up with a forecast for home sales from Metrostudy approaching 4,000 for 2014. New-home closings in the Villages increased 13 percent between 1Q13 and 1Q14.

Total median closing price in the first-quarter was $244,400, a 15 percent increase from the first-quarter of 2013. Median closing price for new homes also increased to $276,600 from $240, 200 in 1Q13. Price has steadily appreciated for both new and existing homes in the popular active adult market. Price per square foot median is also on a gradual rise peaking for new homes at $193 in the first-quarter.

Increased demand in the Villages is marked by decreased supply. Vacant Developed Lot (VDL) supply decreased from 2,169 to 1,596 from 1Q13 to 1Q14, nearly a 26 percent decrease. This also means a decrease in the VDL months supply from 7.4 to 4.8 months. Additionally, future inventory in the market fell below 31,000 for the first time in four quarters in 1Q14 ending with 29,933. Finally, months supply of housing overall is tight falling from 8.4 in 1Q13 to 5.0 in 1Q14. The rapid demand increase speaks to a the potential for a very good year in sales for the Villages.

1Q14 The Villages Housing Market Analysis - Builder Magazine

Not sure what part of Collier you drove through. Of the approximately 900 houses built here, 9 remain unsold. I am sure there are residents who have not moved in yet and some snowbirds as well resulting in homes that are currently unoccupied. But it is hardly a ghost town.

I'm just curious why you wish you had some equity at this point. You said you paid cash. The value of your equity is the value of your house. Did you mean you wish you had some capital gain at this point?

I'm sure this is a factor as well as there are fewer coming to TV in the summer months. The daily Sun publishes a section 2 or 3 times a week listing homes for sale. On the back page there is a count of homes sold in the past 12 months. In May I noticed the numbers dropping so I started charting it. (Why? beats me...lol)

May 8th
5,236. Total
3,183. New
2053. Pre owned

June 21
5,123
3,104
2,019

July 31
5,071
3,006
2,065

This may be a normal summer trend. I don't know as I have never tracked the data in previous years. It will be interesting to watch.

I believe those days of accumulating and capturing high equity are gone for many of us given the slow recovery and I am not addressing speculative buying which help create the housing bubble. a village resident pays for the infrastructure, the land and the housing unit. How much above costs for each is something we will never know. Like a casino, the house always gets the better of the deal and is always the big winner

For the first time in 30 plus years, The Villages will have to front the money for the infrastructure when they commence building in Fruitland Park. There will be no bonds attached to these homes for them to use to get reimbursed.

It will be interesting to see if people will be willing to pay $500,000 plus for a designer home.

IF you wanted to sell your home in The Villages and move elsewhere, chances are you would make a very nice profit.

Sure, the Developer made a profit. No problem with that at all. You can make a profit, too.

My house appraised for 50k more than what I paid 3 years ago. I like owning a home in the villages, better than in Illinois where my house is worth half of what I paid.

Hi Gracie: you bring up some valid points. But whether we are defining mark up or margin the fact remains its high. Retail jewelery has a mark up of between 800% and 1000%. People pay those prices and some think nothing of it. Neither my wife nor I are fond of jewelry so the mark up to us is obscene.

It is one thing to describe a person as a good businessman but when does good transcend into greedy? To be sure the Developer tightly controls all of his operating costs, the costs of building and the cost of inventory and shifts monetary burdens when possible. These homes may vary somewhat, but basically they are all the same block units. My wife keeps reminding me its location, location location but what if you are not as enamored with location as others then what's that worth to you?

Essentially I am one of those individuals who never goes overboard over anything or anyone because it translates to me as not clear thinking.

Personally speaking, Yes I like TV. yes I believe it is pretty and clean. Yes I like the people. Yes I like the fact that there are many things to do. Can one find these same things elsewhere Yes. Do I view TV as Disneyland No.

This all brings us back to my original point people pay a high premium to locate here and the Developer in fact openly promotes that very fact by stating people are buying a Lifestyle. And my second point is in comparison to other locations what is TV Lifestyles worth ?

I am expressing an opinion not advancing an argument

Personal Best Regards

But it is hard to watch the value decrease.[/B]

Don't know where you're getting your numbers but my house is worth at least %10 more then I paid for it back in June of 2013!

I agree with most of your statement rubi, but the greedy question doesn't resonate with me. The Morses may be greedy, I can't see inside their souls, so I cannot know. However, when it comes to real estate I can't see the use of the word greedy as relevant. Real estate is probably the most pure economic transaction anyone can make. The value of real estate depends totally on what the market will bear, what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller. I can't blame the developers for ASKING whatever they believe they can get for their property, and if willing buyers can't be found in a reasonable timeframe, they will have to discount or otherwise incentivize. There is no question they have hit upon a successful formula as their prices and the demand, dropped far less during the downturn than almost any other place in the country. I still am astounded that in either 2010 or 2011 they sold ONE PERCENT of the new homes sold in the ENTIRE COUNTRY.

Ed, I agree with you 100% on real estate being all about what the market will bare. And I never begrudged the developer making as much money as he could if we were willing to pay. But I left The Villages 3 weeks ago knowing how everything, and I mean everything is done in a quick and efficient manner so it makes me wonder why I am still sitting here 3o some days after closing and still waiting for a refund for my passes and overpayment for utilities. Holding someone's money is greed in my book. No it's not a lot, hardly worth worrying about; however, speaks volumes to me.

I agree. The supply has gone up and at the current time the demand is down; therefore we are seeing discounts on existing homes. Greed will not drve a market unless there are willing buyers. We retirees are usually too smart to be duped.

I'll say. We have a lot of real estate transactions behind us, most of us. I was very skeptical when we first made a visit here some will remember my first posts as to what the developer was like and was he on the up and up because I sincerely doubted that any place could be THIS good.

Now I cannot praise this place and all the processes associated with it enough. It is my feeling that it is run better than any like size municipality in this country. I am constantly amazed by the order and neatness and the constant painting and cleaning of structures here belonging to The Villages.

I could go on and on, and have gone on and on, but for me, this is the very best time of my life. The worry and work that used to be my life is in the past and I can share time with my peers; enjoy them, argue with them, debate with them, laugh with them, eat with them, learn with them. As someone's adult child said; This is a college campus without the pressure.

Over the years I have read threads just like this saying that sales were falling off and that the developer was in trouble..always at the same time of the year.

But in the awful downturn in this country in the past six or so years, at the worst the country was seeing, The Villages at one time was selling TEN percent of all the homes sold in this country.


NO. I don't work for them, never met them. I just think they do it right.