I think it is important to understand that real estate agents work for the seller. When a potential buyer refers to an agent as "our realtor" it is not accurate. Buyers should be wary of seeking advice from real estate agents because they are always going to put a positive spin on the housing market, especially during a difficult time such as this. They are being paid by the seller, not the buyer.

Davem, I commend you. This is off the topic of the initial post but bears mentioning. I see many folks that have more money to live on and play with than others do, so they can think about what they leave their children- it’s not hurting their lifestyles now. Some aren’t in that position. My child is doing better financially than we ever did. Material things and brand names have never been important to my daughter (and her husband), which will ultimately help them when they’re in the stage of life that we’re now in. On the other hand, I see how frugal some people live down here: dinner twofers with quantity rather than quality, picking through the racks of discount retail clothing stores and settling for things they may never have chosen at full retail or even on sale; cocktails are too expensive to order when dining out... they eat wherever they have a coupon for, etc., with more money in the bank or invested to leave the children.

I see my adult child and her husband investing in their future independently. Yet I’ve also known young couples who are relying on their future inheritances to make a large purchase or pay off their own kids’ college loans, for example. If we’ve raised them to be, and they have become responsible adults by now, it’s time to for us live life to its fullest- maybe even be frivolous by allowing ourselves some “wants” rather than needs. We’ve earned it.

IMO, doing without or with less, and living very frugally in order to leave our kids with an inheritance has become antiquated. Just saying...and not selfishly... if you can enjoy the remaining years of life with extra available bucks now, rest assured that our children will make it with or without us. If your kids have been spoiled all their lives, given the best of everything, (buying your 14:year old a Louis Vuitton purse?? ), you’ve done them a disservice from the start...no turning back now! At a time that we should be living, living, living, some are still saving, saving saving... for the kids.

North Villages
 

You specifically want North Villages and its my understanding there has been little change in property value over time. There is reason to think this will continue. - - Check this out with an independent (not Villages) agent, because I cannot be sure. - - I can tell you the market price of my North Villages home has not budged in the four years I've owned it. I can also tell you I paid about what those who owned it before me had paid nine years before. Furthermore, I was told that prices in The Villages did not take much of a hit during 2008 - in other words, this is kind of a "real estate island" where little changes. Perhaps not true of new builds south of 466A. You need a professional opinion specific to the North Villages. Again, speak to an independent agent, not a Village employee who sells real estate here. (They are nice, but they do repeat the company line, which is not always strictly accurate.)

Your choice seems may be a bet on whether the current “opening up” will cause a serious spike in new cases of coronavirus or not.

If the coronavirus situation gets worse we can expect the clamp down on travel and human interaction to be reinstated. That would be bad if you’re selling a house but good if you’re a buyer. But that also depends on whether you can travel here yourself. Being locked down up north or coming here and finding no place to stay while house shopping doesn’t help you.

Right now the curves have not completely flattened. President Trump estimates significant increases in deaths and in the next breath claims he’s done a spectacular job. The governors are a bit better but we shouldn’t forget that they’re all politicians running for re-election.

I’d suggest we should all seek information from reliable sources. Drs. Farci and Brix have become accepted sources of reliable information. The New York Times has begun to publish maybe the best and most understandable charts that I’ve seen. They show both daily numbers of new cases and deaths as well as a moving average. All the numbers are searchable down to the county level. Easy to understand and very accurate. By the way, Marion, Sumter and Lake counties are all well down the list of Florida counties which have had problematic numbers of infections and deaths.

So there you go, it’s a gamble. Personally I don’t think you’d save much money on the purchase of a Villages home by betting on some worst case scenario. That’s particularly true for new homes. The Villages will put sales spiffs on but they’re well-known for not panicking on pricing. Existing homeowners may be less disciplined but the new home prices tend to prop up used home prices as well.

I think if it were me, if I saw a home in a location I liked which checked all the boxes of features you want, I’d jump on it.

Good luck.

sometimes the answer to the question needs to go "off post" and be expanded so that one can step back a little and see the bigger picture and both the intended and unintended consequences

I totally agree...just remember, he who hesitates is stuck choosing from what's left

will it make your wife happy ?
 

First congrats , any retirement community in Florida is better than anywhere else. Second, sounds like you'll have some money- buy it now if it makes your wife happy . The money doesn't matter.

Lastly - if you've sold your old place great - why wait to see what drops or not in value !

good luck and enjoy retirement. no stress needed...

“FROGS”? Just recently moved here and haven’t heard that term but I’m guessing it refers to everyone jumping from house to house?

Frogs are here till they croak

Good advice and will take under advisement.

Thanks.

You've somehow made a large leap in assumptions.

We are living our life exactly as we want and are not "doing without" anything, just to provide a larger inheritance.

It was simply an ancillary comment, about having extra money to play with in the market(s).

I would think June. Many may be holding off on selling their home until November because the prices may come up or that is the time snowbirds come down to buy. You may have more choices. Also a realtor may know of some who are interested in selling but are waiting to put the house on the market.
If someone is listing their home now they will probably take best offer.
I met a couple who put their house up for sale in March. Their house sold immediately at ther first open house.
These houses sell fast so I don't think you will get a big price drop. I would think it would depend on what type of home you are looking to buy.
We just moved here. I don't see anything slowing down. Executive golf courses are full. People out driving their golfcarts all over. People meeting their friends at the squares or a nice shaded area visiting. Bikers & walkers are out. This is an unique area for Seniors. There is always going to be your negative comments but I don't see why homes will drop that much in price. Homes that are over priced because of extras in that home versus the same home without the extras may have to drop prices because most people won't pay for the extras. Unless someone really likes that particular home. Many extras can be outdated or not to their liking.
Bottom line is your priorities.

You must consider the $38,000.00 bond on new homes
I live in Sabel Chase (2nd home) and i love it here.

I agree. I read somewhere that since 1985 property values in The Villages have never gone down. Even during the worse downturns and recessions they held their own. I doubt that we're going to see property values drop in the near future. If they were going tho, they would have by now. What real estate is doing in the rest of the country has very little to do with what prices do here.

It's not just inflation, it's supply and demand. It seems that The Villages cannot keep up with the demand. With the baby boomers coming to retirement age, that's not going to change.

HAHAHA. that's exactly what I thought it meant when I moved here in 2009. Thanks for the chuckle !!:welcome: