Why are newer homes being sold?
 

Would be interested in hearing why so many newer homes are being sold? I do realize there are situations that cannot be controlled, just seems there are a lot of newer homes on the market. Are these homes being sold due to things the buyer did not realize prior to purchase?

Many buy home as an investment, rent or keep empty for a year (you are not allowed to make a profit under a year that is written in your contract with developer)

If it’s a great view, or location, without rent one may gain $50,000 and up. Add in as a rental profits increased even with gain on taxes. Some including us (fourth house)have moved more than once to newer areas and homes every couple of years. Profit are rolled into next build, makes a nice investment/income every year or two.

New homes have been selling at the one year, one day mark since we started coming to TV in 2007. So nothing new or unusual.

Our street is reaching the one year mark and there are a handful of homes listed already. Have to say the asking prices are quite higher than what was paid. Wow! Good luck to the sellers. If their realtors are correct, we made quite a nice investment here.

TV's construction crews are permanent full-time employees in some cases for generations. Building new homes is their business and they are quite good at it. This process will not stop in our lifetime.

No, I disagree. The pullout section for real estate in the newspaper now has 22 PAGES OF HOMES south of 44 in the new home area. Six months ago it was 12 pages. This is obvious just by the weight of that section in the paper. Check the paper again next week and you'll see what I mean.

Think you nailed it.

Anyone who bought new from 2017 when they opened Fenney until now will do very well profit wise.

People buy new and flip after a year elapses, some many times.

Of course if a couple resides in a home for two years or more capital gain of up to $500K on the sale of the home usually can be excluded from income tax.

I think that applies only to a person's "principal residence". If you've got a home elsewhere that you still claim as your principal residence, then any profit on the sale of your TV home is fully taxable in the year of the sale.

Prior to 2022 a lot of T V realtors would snag up houses. Rent them for a year and sell them. Then the "goldrush" happened causing the loto system for buyers buying up the new houses. Now that ended its back to same old same old. Most likely realtors/investors selling them. Its all about the $$$ flip after one year.

Its kinda sad to watch if you move to T V thinking the lifestyle will equal making long term friendships. Once your here you figure out real fast you have snowbird friends and some year round ones if you are lucky not to be on an ABnB ally. My parent's loop is a ghost town except for the weekly cleaning crew coming in for the ABnBs.

thanks so much for your input!

From listening to some YouTube videos and talking to people here, could be a few reasons. One realtor stated people purchased homes right before the market went crazy and they want to sell for maximum profit or they paid to much in the height of the market and want to sell in fear of losing money in the future. Another reason I have heard myself, some who bought just a year ago want to live near Eastport. Sometimes after being here you get a feel for the place and may just like another section better or it’s easier to be maybe closer to doctors or shopping or whatever.
A Villages sales agent told us they are selling 1000 homes a month. Crazy either way you look at it.

wondering if higher sell price is to account for closing expenses and the realestate commisson. Thank YOU!

I am very skeptical of these stories where people are making tons of money after a year. You are insuring, maintaining, heating, air conditioning, paying taxes and then closing costs on each house. Sometimes I think people are not doing the math, so I remain skeptical.

As I and many have posted location, view, prime models sell within days.
2012, Even after capital gains, the ending sale profit $56,000, plus 4 years of rental income. Each home after that six figures pretty normal as long as you have location, view, and model. Younger gens seem to buy sell. My parents in 80s would buy a rental, but not pickup and move every two years to make a profit

Absolutely disagree. We have made many close friends, some of them are like family.

People use TV for investments. Not as a home.

My little village feels like I'm the only one in it.

You sound like one of the sales people that work here

Same with us. The naysayers would find a reason to be unhappy anywhere.

Some of us were sold a bill of goods and didn’t realize it right away. Now kinda stuck because TV has flooded the market with new homes they can’t sell and reducing prices a resale can’t compete with

Don’t forget the bond payments..

Which neighborhoods? I would love to buy a 1 year old home.

A couple on The Villages Experience youtube podcast state they were ready to sign an in season rental agreement and then said “screw it. This is a down payment. Lets just buy a patio villa and sell it in one year”

I am planning on buying a new home, but bonds for new Veranda and Designer homes south of Eastport are close to $50,000. With the morrgage at 7% interest it is not affordable.

That was yesteryear, it’s almost 2025 and the total economics have changed. The last of the large boomer retirement years have passed and the prices here have escalated to where it’s not as attractive as it once was. Also the shear number of new homes being built detracts from the value of existing homes. Couple that with the loss of the small town feel that attracted many and what people were able to profit from ten years ago is like comparing apples and oranges. And the last 4 years prices were highly influenced by Covid and the work from home syndrome which is fading. I wouldn’t want to be too deep into owning rentals as the continuing new build competition will impact long term returns.

Things to take into account, if you are looking at investment during high interest.
Your investment advisor is your key voice in your head. Our investment gains are far above 7%.
That said we took largest mortgage on our fourth home @6.25%. 30 days after close started dropping large principal payments. So basically in less than 5 months our interest $$ amount per month is equal or less than a 4.1% mortgage rate. This has always been our mortgage process since the 70s.
Our financial guy will tell us when to stop large principal payments and then use power of OPM.

We bought in TV 2 new spec houses, one preowned, and just built a 4/3 pool home, with $50,000 bond. So four houses, have sold three, not one did we pay off bond. Buyer absorbed the bond.
Our current bond rate is extremely low, and paying off is not in future.

There are expenses during that 1 year period that must be paid. Like to prevent mold you need to run the A/C. You need the grass to be cut. The sprinkler system needs to use water. You probably need security cameras installed. Basically you have expenses. So, you are betting that the house sells at the end of the year for more than the original sale costs plus those 1 year expenses. Like ANY investment, there are risks involved.

Real Estate Commission
 

Real estate commissions do increase sales prices. A Seller wants 500,000, but list it for 530,000 to cover commission costs. When it sells comps for the neighborhood go up etc. It looks like the tide is turning though as the market becomes more competitive with newer rules and increased FSBO activity. Many websites are now selling and listing homes on MLS for a $99 dollar fee. It’s becoming a madhouse in the market.

We were told by several agents not worth paying off bond you will not get it back when selling.

However when you consider the fee for having the bond on top of the interest, at some point think we will pay it off.

Many like my in-laws would never risk investing at a bank, homes, or market. Then again younger residents have time to play catch up. One sells investment homes at the right market, not because it’s a year old.

Since we have always owned 2-3 homes at a time in TV from 2010, plus up north lake house, and family home, have a little experience. With extensive knowledge of what homes need, your “probably need cameras” should never be probably. One can monitor anything inside or out while 10 or 1000 miles away.

If one owns an investment home, “at not the right sell time”,long term tenants are plentiful, in TV. We are in the process of guiding our 21yo grand for her first investment flip home.

However some just aren’t comfortable or have the funds to invest without constant worry. Plus we have Zero attachment to any home in TV. So if something comes along, at the right location, view, then it could become next home, then either long term current home or sell since it’s a great view/location.

In my case I did two sales on new houses that I built with the first being at the 2 year mark and the second being at the 1 year mark. The reason for both was for a great profit, and in the case of the second one an additional reason was that I wanted to move up north of 44.

$290 a month for a bond in Moultrie Creek on a designer. Can’t do it. Agree on Financial Planner!

Then possibly best option is between the 6’s bonds will at least half paid off, I think our 2010 designer had less than $12,000. Doesn’t mean it’s your forever home, after all it’s not like memories keep you from selling.

We started with a PV, investment, two years later added a 3/2 cottage, long term rental, two years later 3/2 designer/cart garage to snowbird and 6month rental.
With the 3 homes in TV we sold 4yo PV, that pretty much paid balance of designer. But we never made any of those investments without weeks of conversations with our FG.

Are 2 year old homes on water selling for $300K over original price (without a realtor and no improvements) the norm now? I thought this market was softening.

I always look at how much the seller paid for a house and how long they owned it. For a one year old house, I am not willing to pay more than what the seller paid for it. The real estate commission is a cost to the seller, not the buyer. It may not always be logical, but that is the way I view it. If everyone did it that way, there would be no flippers for a quick profit, as it should be. Houses are for living in, not as a speculative investment.

My one year old house that I built on the water sold in May 2024 for $243k more than I paid for it. I did put about $40k into it, and closing costs were about $52k, but I made out very well.

Sad for sure. Of course things change but never ever expected this. Waited for lots to go up for sale near the planned Arnold Palmer C.C., designer or premier area recommended for "stability" for people like us, looking to be full time residents, told villa areas more prone to be purchased for part time and vacation homes. Now, our street of "stretched" designer homes (10, five on each side of block) has two of us full time residents. The quite large designer next door is almost exclusively rented by the night, not month or season. We've had no problems with large parties (it has 4 BR) or noise, but almost never does anyone even bother to speak back if you just say "Hi, hello there" ! Some will smile toward you but take off in the golf cart not wanting to waste any time getting to know people they will never see again ! Two homes are are owned by "snowbirds" and we two couples who are full time do look forward to both snowbird couples arriving each year. Neither of them rents out their place when not in residence, so there is no activity at either location other than lawn care people. Yes, it definitely not what we anticipated happening, but, it is what it is.

What "bill of goods" were you sold? That all your neighbors would immediately be your besties?

They are pretty much selling the same # of houses/month that they were selling when you moved in... Maybe a few less, if you listen to "the sky is falling" posters on ToTV...

We moved into an established neighborhood, just north of 44 about 3.5 years ago. While we're still snowflakes (soon to be frogs), we've made some very good friends, have been ignored by a few neighbors and have a host of neighbors, we've yet to meet...

We meet new people at every monthly event our village has (when we're down in TV), new people at the pool, new people when playing golf, pickleball, water aerobics, etc, etc, etc...

Just like our current neighborhood in MD...

Good luck ever buying a resale with those caveats...

The only way I see that happening is if the seller is in dire financial straits where time is of the essence, or if you're you're buying from an "estate sale"...

Either way, you're still competing with other buyers who live in the real world...

Really? I thought The Villages disallowed realtors from buying homes MANY years ago for this exact reason of the flipping.

Well said.