Remember when you looked at new homes and had a 2 hour window to yes or no. Then again there wasn’t 5 different villages being released, and drone flights giving you extensive knowledge that 3 more villages are coming in the mix.

2007 PVs and homes with kissing lanais didn’t sit long. Now view lots snapped up in 5 minutes of release, as does build lots ( except in Enclave interior lots only).

New buyers are becoming more attuned to what properties they want to live in, no longer is “We are done building” looming in the near future. Homes have and will always sit if the lots are less than desirable, or certain models.

Larger homes seem to be moving, along with many view lots, no matter, bond or tax. According to many on this site interest rates aren’t a problem since many buyers are mortgage free. Or if they are smart listening to their financial advisor take interest rate in stride.

I really never remember this many newly released villages at the same time. I could be wrong be usually you had one or two closing out, then one new village opened. Someone here longer I am sure has those stats.

Many are waiting for certain new villages to release, guessing they will sell with quickly with multiple names for each property. Just remember those who build, don’t close for months, so those Sold numbers are still in the wings. Like the close to hundred of lots on new golf courses

I think the buyers are out there, but buying mindset has changed. If I don’t see what checks my boxes, there will be another village open soon. Leaving spec houses that doesn’t fit sitting.

Those very spec homes are the slag that will drive all prices eventually into the ground.

Three errors to consider
The Dabney / Denham area
Continued construction
Failure to control information

There will be a huge kissing lanai inventory problem soon. Maybe there already is? The Premier section which was done a little late demonstrated it. The cream is taken, the rest is left as slag.

So Craig, which village did you decide to move to?

Kissing Lanai AND Double Car Garages
 

I've noticed that it's not only the kissing lanai locations that gut the new home inventory, but also homes without golf cart garages. Those are primarily the ones with price reductions...

(Please forgive if this was mentioned already, as I stopped reading posts after page 3 - :girlneener:)

Soon as Enclave was announced we were interested until……
First no longer a Premier neighborhood, no custom builds anymore, yes you can pick your cabinets, floors, fixtures and models, But those items are the same as any other spec, or designer.
Those fabulous kitchens, in premier houses and special enhancements are gone. Why do I want to build the same house I have, in Enclave for $300,000 more excluding the lot. Same average cabinets, fixtures, and floors. No pushing out interior walls, adding outlets just any ordinary house with ordinary interior. No thanks. Area wasn’t a big deal, it is a beautiful area, unlike any other neighborhood, but No custom, no sale.

What do you mean failure to control info. If it’s the knowledge of how much is coming, can’t really stop technology, that didn’t exist in 2007.

Hello Flyers,

Retiring somewhere around the end of the year so we have not purchased a home yet but we are all over it. If we had our choice we love Fernandina, Hillsborough, Gilchrist but we are looking at everything. Prices are still very high for upgraded pre-owned and we can get all we want in a new build for 200k less and improve it ourselves. Anyway, we will be buying whenever we want between now and the end of the year. Have a great day Brother.

Try finding a larger home with a pool for sale. The "starter" homes languish, but homes with larger lots and pools sell quickly. The Developer might be wise to build more high-end "dream" homes, rather than so many modest "starter" homes. If the most expensive homes sell out in five minutes and require a lottery to buy, you're not pricing them to match demand and you're building the wrong kind of home to match the market.

Or do something like build homes with 3-4 car garages on a hard to sell street.

Agree. The developer may have to rethink his plans. However, it is still early in the building of Eastport. Moultrie Creek and Shady Brook may not interest buyers because they are the farthest south. It will be interesting to watch what happens as each village is released.

All types of preowned homes are sitting including large luxury homes. A buyer has many to choose from because of the high inventory. This is not going change anytime soon.

Does this happen a lot down there?

Not to me... But there are internet bullies everywhere... Tough guys from behind a keyboard...

Your analysis is spot on. What you forgot to mention is historical number of buyers has remained the same. Hundreds more preowned than average have been listed. The Developer can build hundreds of new homes quickly. However, there are not hundreds and hundreds of additional buyers. Throughout this past year, the historical number of buyers has not varied; not even a smigeon. Not enough buyers equals rising inventory.

The winners are the few buyers. They have the opportunity to choose from a large inventory. As expected, they are cherry picking the best and the hundreds remaining are left sitting. This is happening in both preowned and new construction.

It seems the Developer has noticed this trend. In future builds, I believe there will be more homes with fences. IMO, he should also consider building townhomes. Or, add more homes with low maintenance yards. The courtyard villas with all concrete backyards (like in northern area) would do well. The newest wave of retirees enjoy carefree living.

Or, it could be because flippers came in and snatched up houses. They even stopped allowing a person to buy multiple homes in 2021. Now everyone is trying to sell. I promise nobody who lives in the south hates it like you wish they did.

It's not just TV...It is all of Florida. Hurricane season has started and they can't afford insurance :)

Well, you've certainly done your homework, and have shared that with as many people as who are willing to read your reports on what you've found. What's funny is that I have never read anywhere in your threads "the sky is falling", just information that you've gleaned.
Enjoy your last months of work. You'll be here soon.
No matter where you finally choose, it will be a nice place to live. My wife and I have enjoyed the lifestyle immensely. I'm sure you will, too.

Thank You for the very nice comment. Enjoy your day!

The best way to deal with internet bullies is to type in ALL CAPS!! and use exclamation marks. This always scares them.
Sometimes when I do it, it even scares me, like when I just did that as an example. Very frightening stuff. Be careful with it.

I own in one of the "southern sections". Most of the people in my village that were selling recently were to move to another new home in another southern section. Almost everytime they were selling because they just didn't buy as big of a home that they eventually realized they needed, or in one case they wanted to live closer to Middleton since their kids bought there.

I've not heard one person complain about high bonds, taxes, the prison or the turnpike and I talk to other people in my area all the time.

Kinda funny the range of subjects that people choose to create conspiracy theories about.

Unlike the earth being flat or that we didn't land on the moon, there IS a prison, higher bonds and turnpike noise. It's just that most people don't have an issue with those "conspiracy theories".

I'll give you higher bonds. But unless you live within a couple of streets of the turnpike, it's not an issue. I live in Monarch Grove, don't hear it. I also live across Marsh Bend Trail from the prison, would never know it's there except for all the harping about it from people who do not live down here.

Good to hear from you my friend. Always enjoy your posts and your insight into the subject. I sort of miss the TOTV “gatherings” (over at a Southern Trace restaurant) we had some years ago. Putting a face with a poster on TOTV was a fun time. Back to the subject Jim!

I have followed The Villages real estate market but not as much as before and as we “age” we want to stay put. We have purchased 5 homes in TV and overall 12 in Florida. We purchased and sold more homes in Illinois and Tennessee too. Some would say we bought and sold a “lot” of houses. I am not and never have been a Realtor but know a bit about the real estate market.

For sure, higher interest rates and higher prices has slowed housing sales across the country. At a glance, inventory is high in TV and prices are about 50% higher than a few years ago. However, all real estate is still “local”. TV has always done better in a market downturn than all other locations that we have lived in. It’s been almost 25 years since we moved to Florida and now 18 years in TV. TV is a great place to live and own property. Everyone’s situation is different and whether to buy or sell comes down to individual situations and choice. My advice always due diligence to the best of your ability.

Everyone that bought knew beforehand that those existed before we bought. The person claiming that people sold because of those reasons, it makes zero sense. Besides, the newer areas have higher bonds and are closer to the prison.