How on earth haven't home prices crashed in the Villages.
 

I just read online the stock market decline this year has taken 17 trillion out of the economy, in addition todays 30 year mortgage rate is 7.5%+ yet dozens of new homes are being sold every day in the Villages. I am financially very secure but no way am I going to drop 500K on a house in this market. I just don't get it.

Maybe a little research on housing pricing in TV over the last 25 years will tell you something.

Hint: most properties have never gotten cheaper!

If you sell high and buy high it all comes out in the wash.

I agree. I wouldn't buy a new house now, but I might make a low offer on a pre-owned house. If you want a new house, you may need to wait until the builder resets the prices for new houses.

Many are buying for a short term rental - rental prices are up as well.

Others are selling primary home (at a premium) and buying here. The prices in TV are still less than the north/northeast. So they are paying cash, and still have a few bucks in their pocket.

Rumor has it prices have gone down about 10%. With interest rates rising will be less demand and prices will fall some more

The developer is now requiring buyers of new houses to agree in writing that they will not rent out their house. I don't know if that applies to all new houses, but it probably does.

Update - Sorry, it is not a written agreement. My bad. See Post No. 69 for a clarification.

The resales are slowing down in our neighborhood. A lot of red dots on the website, compared to a month or two ago.

Are you sure about that? Is that legal?

I'm sure it is happening. I don't know about the legality. But, I wouldn't want to sue The Villages.

They must have an overabundance of money. I saw some vinyl siding houses - one bedroom, one bath 800 something square feet (barely small apartment size - and apartment grade) selling for $220,000 in DeLuna. Imo, way waaaaay over priced. But I guess somebody must be buying them .

We were told we couldn't sell our house for a year. I don't think there was any restriction on renting it out. If my house was ever rented out, I wouldn't want it anymore. But, that's just me..

I think you can sell the house, but, if you make a profit after paying the real estate commission and any upgrades, the profit reverts back to the developer. That has been the policy for many years.

The no rental agreement is a relatively new policy.

500k is pocket change for those from the Northeast

In answer to the OP, there are over 4 million people over 65 in Florida alone. There are, last I heard, around 175,000 here in TV. They build and sell about 400 homes per month. So, you do the math, TV is the BEST retirement community in Florida, and it makes up a tiny percentage of the market. Prices reflect demand. There is a significant larger demand here than there is supply. Most people, in my humble opinion, go somewhere else because some don't want to wait.

This is The Bubble. Bad things don't happen in The Bubble.

Not true. $500K in 100 dollar bills would be a stack of bills 21.5 inches high. How would anyone from the Northeast fit that into their pocket?

Also, 80% of home sales are reported to be cash so interest rates have minimal impact.

How is this stated in the contract?

Different demographic than America at large. TV is unique. Affluent retirees, most of whom worked hard their whole lives, were prudent and remained healthy.

From what I see and hear Ferraris are still selling like hotcakes.

Most buyers in the Villages don't get a mortgage. Most homeowners who are 55+ have already paid the mortgage off in their previous homes, so whatever they get when they sell their current home, is applied to the cost of their Villages home. They use their savings or cash in investments, to cover the balance.

When we sold our home up north we got around $200k. We were able to buy our home here in the Villages with a little help from a relative after the sales price paid off the balance of the mortgage. We owed very little and didn't have to get a mortgage at all. It was a cash sale.

New homes in the Villages are typically cash sales, which is why they usually close within 30 days (or less) of the agreed offer.

You can also buy pre-owned for less than $500k; in fact you can find plenty of beautiful Villages homes here for under $300k, even in this inflated market.

I would suggest that you ask the developer or an agent for a copy of the agreement.

We bought new, closed at the end of May. We were never asked to agree to anything like that. We signed a paper that we wouldn't resell in less than a year though.

Interesting. It may only apply to certain types of houses. But, a friend tried to buy a new house for a rental, and he was told that he had to agree to not rent it out or he could not buy it.

Heavy demand property in great location does not see high price drops..TV property has huge demand as does most coastal Florida. TV is probably the most desirable non-coastal place in Florida.

And California. Brother has an 80 year old 3/1 1600 Square foot home in Silcon Valley which would sell in a heartbeat for 1Mil.

Wouldn't want those rentals to mess with TV plans for Apartments throughout every section.

A briefcase, silly goose! With room leftover for a heater!

don't think so
 

no way the developer can put that restriction on a buyer

xon't think that's legal

The sales pitch we got when we bought here was “you are not buying a house, you are buying a life style “.
We do love it here and feel very fortunate to be able to call The Villages home.

Has the no rental clause been verified?

If the rumor is true, I would think it would impact prices as it would reduce demand.

But it might be tough to enforce. People would just say they have “friends” staying there.

What would the snowbirds do?

And what about the developer’s rental division - The Villages Hometown Property Management?

Some fresh data
- resale days on market in April was 5 days
- Today it’s 25 days.
We are waiting because the choices are growing rapidly

Don’t you know anything they do is legal, it’s Morse law!!

Supply and demand. Thousands of people are fleeing nyc/California/Chicago and other cities and states to florida everyday and they have to live somewhere. If you are going to pay cash for the house, high interest rates are in your favor, it makes it a more buyers market since high interest rates eliminate a lot of buyers that have to get a loan

Heck, people by homes here without ever seeing the house or lot.

It would be a deed restriction, not in the sales contract.

I would not be surprised if certain villages have short term rental limits. It would be a quality of life item for neighbors.

Some towns made short term (i.e. Air BNB) rental illegal. Long term, annual leases, are fine. The one that comes to mind is Coronado, CA, they aggressively prosecute those who violate.

It’s due to demand! If demand drops prices will drop. If demand holds steady, prices hold steady or increase. There are 77 million baby boomers. If only a small percentage of them want to move to Florida, that is a huge number of people.

Any evidence to support that?

Buying houses is about the best way to offset inflation. Houses benefit from inflation were I have zero control of the stock market.