[Army Guy]

Lately it seems like besides our normal circle of friends that we socialize with, all the people we meet are snowbirds. Does anyone know the current breakout of what the percent for each is? I had read in the past somewhere it was 60% fulltime and 40% snowbird. The wife and I feel that this can't be correct.
Thanks!
Army Guy

[Deerfly]

I have been here 8 years and think that the percentage of fulltimers is rising. Have no idea of what that percentage is. When the Village Survey is complete the powers that be should know. At least temporarily. I have heard some people disparage snowbirds but they pay their amenities, water, sewer, garbage collection, etc year around. Keeps the price down for fulltimers like me. I never complain about them except incidentally because of the terrible traffic during the Winter.

[natickdan]

It's an iteresting question and I would be curious to learn the answer and then I would be interested in seeing how the FT versus PT numbers have been trending over the last 5-10 years.

Although we are snow flakes, the majority of those who live on our street live here full-time.

[bluedog103]

You get a break when the snowbirds head north. They pay the same fees as everyone else but leave TV for you to enjoy during the warm months. Just think how miserable you'd be if everyone was here full time.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by bluedog103

You get a break when the snowbirds head north. They pay the same fees as everyone else but leave TV for you to enjoy during the warm months. Just think how miserable you'd be if everyone was here full time.

[logdog]

I suspect that a full analysis would have to look at both income and whether the folks are fully retired or not. Mid and lower income, fully retired are probably 2/3 or 3/4 full time while higher income, still working are more like 2/3 part time. Those part timers are more likely to eat out and cause the traffic and long wait times. That's just a guess on my part but I see a lot of empty premiers in summer and not so many empty homes in other neighborhoods.

[ijusluvit]

This is one of The Developer's darkest secrets. The TV surveys and other sources of info for years, tell him EXACTLY the number of full-timers/part-timers. I've never seen any reliable info on the relative percentages. That sends me a loud, clear message: that full-timers are still outnumbered.

I believe this situation is not seen as an asset by The Developer. Until the day comes that he can brag about most of us making s lifetime commitment here, I don't think we will get any accurate data. No Freedom of Information Act in effect here, but I've already traded that stuff for the koolaid.

[gvsulakerfan]

Sumter County has a seasonal vacancy rate of 17%.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by ijusluvit

This is one of The Developer's darkest secrets. The TV surveys and other sources of info for years, tell him EXACTLY the number of full-timers/part-timers. I've never seen any reliable info on the relative percentages. That sends me a loud, clear message: that full-timers are still outnumbered.

I believe this situation is not seen as an asset by The Developer. Until the day comes that he can brag about most of us making s lifetime commitment here, I don't think we will get any accurate data. No Freedom of Information Act in effect here, but I've already traded that stuff for the koolaid.

Obviously, the Developer has the information available as to the breakdown of full time/part time as it is one of the questions asked yearly in the Survey. Yet I've never seen that information published and people are obviously curious about it. The "party line" as espoused by the Sales Reps is that it is around 60% full time and 40% part time.

I find the opinion from ijusluvit to be very interesting, as to why the information isn't released. I would speculate further that if the true number of absentee owners were known, it might highlight the fact that there are a heck of a lot of rentals going on. And a high rate of rental properties isn't necessarily a selling feature for a retirement community.

[hedoman]

[QUOTE=Barefoot;476646]Obviously, the Developer has the information available as to the breakdown of full time/part time as it is one of the questions asked yearly in the Survey. Yet I've never seen that information published and people are obviously curious about it. The "party line" as espoused by the Sales Reps is that it is around 60% full time and 40% part time.



This was my undertanding from the Sales Reps.Not only is the winter a full town but each houshold "entertains visitors" in addition to normal numbers. So instead of an average of 2 folks per house we may have an average of 4. When our visitors come down we eat out....Hence the long waits.

This week, Easter, is the most packed I remember just from Polo, cart traffic etc. Many families.......

In the summer many folks head out to visit so it gets very quiet round here. Not too many visitors here in the summer.....

[2 Oldcrabs]

How many "renters" are there? North of 466 seems to have "thinned out" already. South of 466 seems still busy!

[borjo]

How could he? Not everyone hands in the survey. I have 2 houses, only did one survey. To me it's a statistic that never will be known. Even utilities are kept on in the summer. All I know is there are 4 snowbird homes on our street and 2 rentals out of 18 houses.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by borjo

How could he? Not everyone hands in the survey.

You're right Borjo, not everyone hands in the Survey. And the ratio probably changes rapidly with all the buying and selling, and many Snowbirds convert to Frogs.

Still, Army Guy asked the question. A lot of people wonder. It would be interesting to know an approximate percentage based on Survey information.

[gvsulakerfan]

Originally Posted by borjo

How could he? Not everyone hands in the survey. I have 2 houses, only did one survey. To me it's a statistic that never will be known. Even utilities are kept on in the summer. All I know is there are 4 snowbird homes on our street and 2 rentals out of 18 houses.

not everybody fills out a census but they still project a population. there are ways to analyze any type of data and get a pretty accurate estimate. even if you keep utilities on, the usage data gets analyzed and they can figure out if the house is occupied or not...

[Pturner]

As others have noted, there's probably not an accurate count as not all fill in the survey. All of Florida has a sizable population of seasonal residents.

The attached article estimates that 1 million of Florida's 18-million plus 2010 population were seasonal residents.
Florida State Demographics | eHow.com

Doubt the number of seasonal residents in TV would hurt TV sales as snowbirds are a well-known fact of life about Florida. As in all of Florida, there is not a good way to calculate the percentage of PT vs FT residents. TV is similar to other destination communities in Florida in that many of the full time residents started out as snowbirds or snowflakes.