The BIG question
 

Recognizing that no one can accurately predict the future, we're still interested in the opinion's of those that have been here a while to see if it would be better to purchase say by the end of June or wait until around November to see what this nasty virus does to the home-buying in The Villages.

After renting a couple of times now (up by Glenview and Sabel Chase area), we'll be looking primarily north of 466A (even though we know the bridges will go in soon) so was curious as to the price and demand in the older sections versus the new homes on the other side of the freeway.

All guesses appreciated.

Some articles I saw recently indicated prices were holding steady (nationally), which I cannot believe. I think there was an article recently that we were doing better. I am waiting for the next shoe to drop, the high (very high) unemployment and the associated secondary effects. There have been several articles indicting we are in (or will be very shortly) a recession.
So here is what I think, if you are buying for profit you should probably wait to see what happens, if you are buying for enjoyment, life is too short, go for it.

Buy at the end of June. Look for a house that has been on the market for more than 30 days, and make an offer. Housing values and appreciation have been too high over the past 5 years. Way more than the inflation rate.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I agree about the potential for a recession, which is the only reason we haven't already bought. In fact, instead of just paying cash for the house we are also thinking of taking out a partial mortgage in case the stock market tanks big time, which that extra money could then be invested. That would give us even more money to play with, so the kids will have a bigger inheritance when the time comes. Particularly since home mortgages are at record lows right now and it wouldn't take much return from stocks, to come out way ahead in the long run going in that direction.

This will definitely be our last home and as we heard many times from the full-time residents when we rented, I guess that will officially make us "frogs."

I still have one of those Magic 8 Balls. Not even it could answer your question :icon_wink:

My Ouija board couldn't either

Yeah, thinking about a large recession is what's weighing on our minds.

Although this will be our last home and that will make us one of those frog couples we met when renting have told us about, it might also be an opportunity to invest when the markets are substantially down.

Which has us also thinking about taking out a partial mortgage instead of paying all cash, given the interest rates are so low and the extra money could then go into stocks as a bonus for the kids when that time comes.

Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts.

I think it is better to "wait until around November to see what this nasty virus does to the home-buying in The Villages".

I think a lot of people are living in a dream world and they pretend everything will be back to normal in a few weeks. By November they will accept the facts of life and not be so eager to make a large purchase like a car or a house. That may lead to a decrease in prices.

FYI Real estate traditionally lags the stock market by quite a while. Example - Market bottomed 2009 The Villages property values bottomed Jan 2012.

You have the funds, you find the house..............BUY IT.

That is the way we are leaning right now. I guess the next 30 days or so, will tell if opening things up now was a good idea or takes us back close to the starting line.

By the time November rolls around a lot of people don’t put their homes on the market because they’re renting them if they haven’t sold them by then ...so then you wait till the following year to see what is put up for sale after the high season of rentals. My advice would be to buy now. You’re not going to get some bargain basement just because you wait till November. It won’t make much difference in price ...this is gonna be a short term downturn in the economy and it’ll be back....

For us, there is no such thing as "the house."

We actually currently rent where we are now, having sold last year a large, beautiful home that not much here can touch, so we're moving for the lifestyle (and warmer weather), not the house.

In other words, we have already seen a number of homes that we could easily live with, so finding something acceptable will not be a problem for us.

My point is Nike.................Jus Do It.

whoooo hooooo !