Talk of The Villages Florida - House prices and rents

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Quote:

Originally Posted by villagetinker (Post 1753420)

A friend of mine that has some rentals properties implied that rentals are down (apparently due to all of the closures in TV), however I have not direct knowledge on this matter.

I manage 40+ rentals and activity is way down. Most April Renters cancelled and there are few requests coming in for May and Summer months. Activity still strong for 2021 Prime Months. As to Sales it looks to be a buyers Market, I am also a Realtor here. During the Jan-March Prime months there were approx. 250 homes on the MLS, around mid March it jumped to almost 320 Listings (usually starts to go down during normal Markets.

We found a wonderful home just prior to social distancing started. Put our deposit down and our house on the market. We had 2 or 3 open houses until they put an end to that. Very few showings since then. We’ve dropped the price twice, but I think there’s too much apprehension right now. The market is very slow right now, but there is still interest in moving to TV, so we’re optimistic. Just hope the virus is eventually controlled enough to get things moving again without a glut of homes available from Covid victims.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luv2Bretired (Post 1753404)

...Sales contracts are being canceled and rents are coming down.

Would you pay to go to the circus if the animals were all locked up, maybe at the right price?

Good news, bad news. I have 4 rental houses here in TV. 2 leases were ending April 30. Because of the virus, one tenant decided to extend the lease 6 months. The other beautiful rental needs some prayers because phone calls are slowing down and rental agents can't ride with perspective tenants to show it.

Regarding rentals

We are moving into The Lofts mid June. We moved here from Jacksonville FL on the 2nd of April.
We are remting a villa until 1 July.
Our realtor was happy we were still coming because many coming in April wanting a short rental lease had canceled.
We are happy we came because we are having an easy time finding our way around without as much traffic. We walk around Brownwood Paddock Square in the evenings wearing our mask. I even have a shield since I have a lung disease.
I don't know about house sales but the construction is still going strong.
This is the sloer time for short term rentals so it probably hasn't done too much damage to the rentals.
Word of advice
Bring toliet paper & bleach. I haven't been able to buy any since I have been here.

Yes there has been some downturn in new sales and rentals although the general market continues to be sound from what many can tell.

The real estate portion of the Sun continues to display very few Sold or Pending notifications compared to February. Does not indicate too much recent movement.

I believe it would be premature to venture down before I can physically look for a rental house, learn the various neighborhoods and then start to look for a home to purchase much less actually live the lifestyle, try the restaurants, visit the businesses and get to know fellow villagers.

Truthfully, I am getting a little stir crazy.

Whether your buying new or preowned I would definitely rent for 3 to 6 months, you should be able to get a great deal on a rental. Then take your time in figuring out where you want to live. Real Estate has a tendency to lag the downturn so prices will fall but probably not right away. In 6 months at worse the market will be flat but probably down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevjudbaker (Post 1753907)

Bring toliet paper & bleach. I haven't been able to buy any since I have been here.

Last 3 times I've been to Walmart at Colony they've had TP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jblanding (Post 1753608)

From a buyer and seller's perspective:
We put our house on the market with The Villages Properties in early February. At the time, our house was showing and we had a couple of open houses. For the past month, showings have been rare and the Villages suspended all open houses. So very little activity from a seller's standpoint. As buyers, we found that some people did not want their houses to be shown during the shutdown and some even took them off the market. Fortunately, we just found a house we love and the owner who was looking to downsize suggested we swap houses. So we sold and bought a new house in the same day. I am not sure that happens very often so we were lucky. Depending on what section of the Villages you are considering and your price range, there are many anxious buyers out there. It is a good time to be buying especially with lower interest rates but we did not see a lot of drop in prices. We live in the north end of The Villages and with our price range, size and other requirements there were only 6 or 7 houses to consider. A little farther south near Sumter there are probably 50 and probably more even further south. Also, all the individuals (appraisers, inspectors, bankers, etc.) needed to make a closing happen are working and signing all paperwork can be done electronically. If you want a really wonderful real estate agent, contact Linda Canada-Stuck at The Villages Properties. When she found out that the seller of our new house suggested we swap houses, she jumped on it and the deal was sealed.

Good Luck to you -- In 2013 we also exchanged houses -- similarily to you -- however there were no realtors involved and we closed with a title guarantee company - both parties have remained happy and never looked back -- and as I said at the time {only in the villages{

Quote:

Originally Posted by John_W (Post 1753744)

Would you pay to go to the circus if the animals were all locked up, maybe at the right price?

There's no more circuses

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dond1959 (Post 1754058)

That is just what I plan to do. Thank you. I agree that housing prices can lag a stock market downturn.

I wonder how the pandemic and its consequences will affect retirement communities.

If you look at the asking prices for pre-owned houses that are less than 5 years old, you will see that many sellers are asking as much as 40 to 60 percent more than they paid for the house. So, I think it will be a huge buyer's market in the next 3 or 4 months, because these sellers will need to accept substantially lower prices if they really need or want to sell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 1754670)

Securities have taken a significant hit and it may not be over. This of course affects people just retiring who may need to lower their future income stream expectations. This may mean less house. People who are already retired may want to examine their financial situation as well. Some may need to downsize.