View lots sell fast. They are in demand and as a result a lot of competition for them. Thereby higher prices. Plus, come on. Would you rather stare at a wall or the back of someone else’s house, or look at water or lush green landscape? Once your wife picks out the designer floor plan then you’ll bid on a lot. It’s a lottery system for view lots. Everyone puts their name in for the lot they want when they become available, and then at midnight a computer tabulates and randomly picks a winner. You then have something like 5 days to put down $10K down to hold it. I’ve see people take a year to finally win the lottery they want losing 20+ bids over that time. Then you have to make a design appt (usually within 6 weeks or so) and it’s over a couple days. Once done picking out all your finishings for the house you put 20% down. Construction starts quite fast and done within 4 months.

When I moved to The Villages almost five years ago, I bought a house with a pool on a golf course. I loved the view and the privacy and appreciated the big trees that blocked the late afternoon sun. After a couple years, though, I sold it and bought a smaller courtyard villa that was even quieter and more private. Most important, I’m now mortgage free and have an extra $1,500 a month to spend, for life. I came to realize that while I love The Villages, I don’t much like being outside in the heat and only rarely used the pool. I admired my view, but from inside the house.

Depends on where the lot is located on the course. Prefer out of golf ball range. Makes for great views instead of neighbor home views. Always better resale.

The future is uncertain, very uncertain. There is no way to guarantee yourself that you won't lose value.

Instead of worrying about value, which is subjective and mostly beyond your control, why don't you start with some wants and needs for your forever home.

Follow Charlie Munger's advice, "Its better to buy a great house at a fair price, than a crappy house at a bargain price."

You can control your next move, you can't control the market value, the economy, the fed, interest rates, and other buyers.

Start with your budget, and your financial model for the next 20 years, assets to income, SS, pension, etc, and then cost of living, taxes, cars, vacations, food, etc. . what you can afford today might not be able to be afforded in 10-20 years. . hence you might have to sell at an inconvenient time.

Then start with the house design, which model, and your location within the villages, near entertainment, near courses. . . near grocery stores, near walking paths, near highway for quick on /off highway for traveling?

Then once you know what you want, start looking. . . the difficulty about the villages is so many choices, so you have to narrow down, exclude what you don't want, and that makes the choices much easier. Also, there may be alot of competition for your desires, so you also have to be actively searching and ready to buy nearly instantly if your perfect home comes up to buy. . .

So instead of worrying about changing house prices in the future, try the desirable selection process first. . you might be surprised

reminds me of an admin who once worked sat our company: "My goal is to marry a CFO"
kind of a backwards approach. .

I’ve lived in Florida 55 of my 67 years. We have purchased several homes both as a residence and rentals. In the Orlando area a home on a retention pond is the cheaper home in a neighborhood, only here in The Villages is that considered waterfront property. I’m not sure that you would go wrong with a pond or a golf course view here. I suggest you follow your own desire. Seems people move here and they just can’t spend it fast enough. I also think if you put a 5 gallon pale of water in your front yard there will be a gator in it tomorrow morning. Really just have to worry about them 2 times a year when they come in heat.

If there is water there are gators. Including open invite to them to your pool, should you build one.

The word is "ad nauseam" and it's getting nauseating thinking about how overpriced some properties are. As a golfer, I wouldn't want to live directly on a golf course unless my view was separated by a good size lake. You lack privacy and it's dangerous as balls are regularly misdirected onto your lanai. Wearing a bike helmet while resting on a lounge chair could be stressful. A man-made lake can easily be transformed into a retention pond.

Nonetheless, your home is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Shiver me timbers
 

aye, aye ,

As golfer
 

As a golfer, is any lot truly safe? Just asking.

A view will always attract more people, hence a higher price IMO. At our age, why not go for what you love and not worry so much about what the resale value might be! Good luck with getting what you want.

I live on a small lake at my house is selling for 60 $70,000 more than one across the street. Both phones are similar.

Views are worth every penny
 

We bought a lot on a championship golf course with a water view 20 years ago. Best thing we ever did and worth every penny. Never have seen a gator, only 2x had a ball land in our backyard, mowing is in the late mornings or early afternoons on the course on days the course is closed, it's closed 2 days a week. Love the privacy, still love the view and are amazed it's ours, even after 20 plus years, the view still takes our breath away. Homes on the course seldom go for sale and when they do they sell within a few days for $300,000 and much more than interior lots and even the lots across the street who have a view of the course between the houses.
I don't know about executive courses, but championship course homes have a lot of privacy and we would buy it again in a heartbeat, it was well worth the upcharge.

Do you really want golf carts and people going by your backyard every 15 minutes every day? No privacy. I would suggest finding a lot that backed up to the wooded preserve areas. Those are beautiful.

My house is on the green. Since they are putting I’ve only had 2 balls in my yard ever.
When I’m inside it’s very entertaining to watch my golfers.
I have reflective film on my window so I can see out but they can’t see in.
If I’m outside the golfers wave or we joke around.
It wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it.

If you don't mind living in a house that looks out at someone else's backyard, then it is not worth it. I enjoy having a spot where I can sit and connect with nature, even if the house next door is just 15 feet away. It is a matter of out of sight, out of mind. I don't know what the premium is to the house value in dollars, but to me, it is a home to live in and not an investment.

Have our Home on a retention pond. Linden. Was well worth the price of the lot. Fantastic Sunset views. Would not want a Golf Course lot. Too much cart noise.

The are no "championship golf courses" in The Villages, that are closed 2 days a week, nor is there a Championship Golf Course in the USA, that mows the grass in the "late mornings or early afternoons".

i was told 3 hours to decide

You get more than the view
 

The additional expense of a golf course view will be recovered when you or your heirs sell the house. However, living with a view of a golf course may not be all you hoped for. You will have the noise from mowers and golf carts; the occasional
cursing by players; and, the occasional golf ball hitting your lanai or landing in your yard (more than occasional if you chose a poor location).

The larger problem involves a very poor decision by The Villages in the placement of the cart paths on the golf courses. For some reason known only to the designers, the cart paths have been laid on the side of the fairways closest to the houses. I swear there are houses that I feel I could reach out and touch as I pass by them in my cart. Several times I have said "hello" to people having breakfast in their lanai as I pass by or, even worse, when I am out of the cart and looking for a golf ball. You will find this exists on every course in The Villages. In the older areas, I have noticed that many, if not most, of the lanais have been enclosed and the screening replaced. While this may reduce the noise of the passing carts, it still means that you will have golfers looking into your living quarters from a distance as short as 15'.

If you are spending the extra money for a "view" lot, I recommend you look at those with a view of water or a preserve and not a bunch of old men with beer bellies, dressed in funny looking clothes, and poking in your plants looking for a little white ball.

Only past the green and before the next tee box.

I live on a course now. In front of the forwarded tee box. Still get balls in the yard (but not a lot). The dog has an infinite supply of balls to play with.

A good LOCAL real estate professional should be able to calm your fear of loss. Remember this market is different than most of the country. There are are many 'Chicken Littles' out there that will tell you the sky is falling to get clicks on YouTube.

With how difficult lots are to obtain, especially desirable view lots, you might have to take what you can get. I lost out on 9 lotteries (27 lots) before settling for a lot that was not our desired view. The best lots are truly like winning a lottery prize. Don’t get your heart set on a specific view or you are surely going to be disappointed. But, short answer is that my opinion is that no lot in the Eastport area is worth a $200,000 lot premium. Even the “best” lots have something not so desirable about them (power lines, prison lights, turnpike noise, etc)

There are also lakes of which are named. Usually having fresh water springs.

View lot vs interior lot
 

We had our “dream home” built on a golf course lot. No golf balls because of the lot we chose. Mowers and golf cart noise were minimal, again, because of the lot we chose. I will make a guess that it is likely more difficult to choose the exact lot on a golf course today because of the so called “lottery” for them. If I was purchasing today that could be a deal breaker for me. But to each their own. A water view lot was not in our plans for reasons others have mentioned in their posts.

That said, you can choose your house and lot but not your neighbors. Generally speaking your neighbors are just a few feet away on either side and not far across the street. As far as value, the value in most cases, has been extremely profitable in The Villages. I have no reason to believe that won’t continue in the future. I cannot emphasize enough that due diligence is a must when purchasing real estate in The Villages. Good hunting.

Is there a significant price difference for a house on a Championship course as compared to a similar house on an executive course?

The golf course view is beautiful and quite relaxing. We just happened to be getting ready to market OurCourtyard Villa with the golf course view, a pool, and Jacuzzi, and quite a few extras.

Replied if you’d like

We just built a large house in Well Point on a lake. They told us when we bid on our lot that we would have to go through several rounds of lots before we would get the one we wanted.

Nope, got the first one.

Since we have moved in we have been speaking with our neighbors and they have all told us the same thing - got their waterfront lot on the first try.

So while it may have been hard in the past, it wasn't for us.

The extra $100k was worth it for us because it allowed us to have a larger house with stretches and a pool with a screen enclosure. I also couldn't have my back patio up against another house, I can't live like that.

I just wish we hadn't bid on the first try because we were NOT ready to buy. We hadn't even listed our other home for sale yet because our realtor told us it would probably be a year or so before we "won" the lot lottery. Getting it so fast caused us an enormous amount of stress trying to list and sell our home in time to close on the new build. And when that didn't happen, the additional stress of having to get unexpected financing for the new home.

Knowing what I know now, I would have done things differently.

As a general rule, yes.

It's hard to value a view
 

I've lived in TV since 2018 and in our second home for a year now. To US (each has to make up their own mind), a view (golf, water, reserve, etc.) was not worth the additional price. We have relatives in the northern section up by Glenview that purchase an older home with a great gold course view but got at a great price as it needed a lot of updating. It's think TV artificially generate the cost of "special" lots as they have a raffle when you want to purchase a specific lot - its not as simple as going Into a sales office and picking a lot.
At the end of the day, the value of a view is up to you alone. I don't think you would lose the money. HOWEVER, a lot of people move to other areas (us included) and some multiple times.
I would suggest not passing up pre-owned homes as the previous owners have often made nice upgrades that don't recoup the cost on a sale - especially if not owned for a while. For example, we were the fifth owner for our first home here. We move to get a larger lot - no view but privacy and room for a pool or hot tub.
Also, be wary of pond views. The ponds close us were just mud holes until the recent rains.

I do appreciate the response. I am looking to get all sides.

It's in the eye of the beholder!! If it turns you on, do it. Make sure you like golf balls flying into your yard or house. I speak from experience (I'm the one hitting them). Some people complain about the lack of privacy, and the constant golf cart noise all day long. But the final choice is always yours, not others telling you what you should do.

A golf course view is often more than just a view. Especially if you are next to a tee box, putting green or golf cart path. Spend an hour or so in front of your viewing area and see if you want it. You might be surprised.

It's all a matter of opinion.

Different, how?

Different, why?

Really? There is no other place in the entire world, no less the USA, that is like the lifestyle in the bubble. If the Villages didn’t exist, my wife and I wouldn’t have a home in Florida.

This thread is a no brainer. If you are buying a lot and designing a new house, you should definitely buy a premium view lot. Will you recover your cost? Nobody knows. But, when you sell your house, you will sell it quickly and command a higher price than any interior lot, and you may make a bundle in profit. Why waste your time and money selecting upgrades and color selections for a plain interior lot. Put your money into a premium lot and, if you can't afford the upgrades now, do them later. You can always add upgrades, but you can never upgrade the lot.

Trust me, I would kill if they waited for dawn to start their mowing.

The subject wasn't the "lifestyle", it was the "market". Apples & oranges.

To each his own. When I went house hunting the first thing I looked at was the view. I find it silly that people who never lived on a golf course think that they know the pros and cons.

If you have to question the cost it is probably not worth it for you.