Op, have you been told if you buy a new home it will greatly increase in value in just one year? And, you can easily sell the house then buy a bigger one with your profit? Just wondering because we were told this when we were looking for a new home. For some, this may have worked out. Others were not so lucky. IMO, the best purchase is the home that will make you happy for many years. Buying with investment in mind can be tricky. Especially, now! Home prices are falling and many (both new construction and preowned) are sitting on the market for months.

I am still pretty sure I could sell it for 2x what I paid for it. It would work out to a bit more than 6% appreciation per year.

Now is the time to buy, because the prices in the Villages are dropping significantly. Actually, prices are dropping all over Florida and some are saying that they will never rebound to the high prices they were a year ago. There is a large inventory of homes for sale in the Villages, right now and one of their agents told me that they have not seen anything like this in over 30 years of being here.

I agree. It's a buyers market for sure.
Values aren't increasing now. Those days are over. But for those who bought pre covid, they're mostly in good shape as far as equity goes, many in real good shape.

For us, we bought a 2/2 ranch in Amelia in 2022 when the market was pretty hot. So we paid top dollar. A year and half later we bought a bigger ranch on a corner lot in Amelia. When we sold the 2/2 we made a little money, but not much.

I would say if we were to sell this one right now, which we have no plans to do, we would be fortunate to break even.
That's just the market right now. Where it goes from here, who knows?

As a new buyer, who almost built last, I can confirm this is true for pre-owned homes. Our offer was based on recent sold prices and what an insurance company would insure the house for. Given that most homes are cash transactions, they don’t go through the normal appraisal process required by mortgage lenders.

Could be a combination of inflated prices, market uncertainty, 2 Hurricanes last year casting shade on Florida and people don’t feel the urge to flee blue state politics with a Republican administration in power.

If you are a seller, hold. Real estate always rebounds.

MLS has recently changed the rules. Now the buyer pays for their realtor fees. However, there is often an agreement that the buyer is compensated by the saler for the buyer's realtor fees, Your case may be different and it depends a lot on the market. Often the buyer will not be shown the home unless there is this agreement. You can google and/or talk to a good realtor about this.

The buyer can refuse to pay any real estate fees. That is clearly an option in the MLS documents. As a buyer, I would never agree to pay any money to a real estate company.

typed like a true real estate sales person. I've seen people take this advice, and continue to lose money. . a friend bought a Myrtle beach condo at $180K after sales rep said same, after drop started. Sold out at 90K when the rentals didn't materialize in the golf course program. . (over saturated) and prices continued to drop.

one buys when the market stops dropping and actually starts to rise, if doing so for an investment, or for buying as cheaply as possible., ,.

If one buys to live, price is important, but timing the market is irrelevant. . . house prices go up and house prices go down, irrelevant unless you are buying or selling. If living in a house, you want zero appreciation to keep insurance and taxes from rising faster than inflation.

Also remember, eventhough it's a buyers market here in the Villages, if you have a home thats different meaning, having a View lot, more than 3 bedrooms or extra bathrooms, larger garage, etc, since there are not a lot of homes with 3+ bedrooms and or bathrooms or 3+ car garage, a View lot, your home will always be worth a lot more and will sell faster. This is fact. There are so many homes with pools and bird cages and closed-in lanai that these upgrade are worth less these days. But the "bones", bedrooms, bathrooms, garages, view lots, much less to choose from so if someone really wants your home, there aren't 10 other homes like yours to choose from so they will pay the price.

We got our home because the view is FANTASTIC. Our garage is wider then a typical 2 car garage and would have liked an additional golf cart gradge for additional storage but we have already spent over a year looking.

PS
We made an offer on a different house but didn't get it and we are happy we got this one. We were interested in a different home but it was overpriced so didn't make an offer. They took it off the market until the next year & sold it for a lot less.

Ah, the key to buying a house in the villages:

Have a list of wants and needs, and hopes for
Have a max price:

shop until you drop when you find the one which works. .

friends took about 3 years, but love their house. .

Most would dispute that contention. The only "upgrades" you're likely to get 100% return on, are upgrades that enhance curb appeal. Access Denied

Inflation adjusted, more like 2%-3%. Understanding Home Appreciation & The Effects of Inflation

Can you provide a cite to that source?

Less than 50% of sales in The Villages, are cash transactions. The vast majority involve a mortgage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdwbIr4vzbk

MLS didn't "change the rules". MLS is not a party to consent agreement with the National Association of Realtors. The ONLY "change in the rules", is NAR can't advertise commissions on MLS services. You can learn all about it, here: NAR Settlement FAQs

Well of course they're likely to be "worth more" ... people paid more for them.

I"m curious about your "this is fact", though. Do you have any evidence that 3+ bedroom homes, with 3+ garages, sell faster? Call me crazy, but I'm not sure 3+ bedrooms, with 3+ bathrooms & 3+ garages, are in high demand in a retirement market. If they were. The Villages would be building more of them.

Only buy a house you love and make improvements that make sense to you. I am not going to live with cheap, junky appliances because I may sell the house some day. Bonds make a difference or ads would not make an issue of saying “no bond.” My bond was at 6 percent and, like a mortgage, was over a term of 30 years. Do the math, we paid off the bond at closing ten years ago. Anyone who thinks someone with a paid bond will not take that into consideration at pricing their home is crazy. If you are trying to time the market, good luck. This is a wonderful place and buying a house here is a good thing. Only you can determine if it is worth it to you.

One more thing, slightly off topic but is a follow up to an earlier post. Don't depend on a view that goes over other people's property. We did improvements that partially blocked a neighbor’s view. They complain to ARB. ARB basically told them, TOUGH BANANAS. We filled beforehand with ARC & was approved.

Yes just go into the Villages home finder site and search on the homes with 4 bedrooms and or 3 car garage for example and you will see how much more they are selling for. Then track a couple and you will see since there are not a lot of them they tend to sell faster because people who what those features will pay for it since there are not a lot to choose from compared to a typical home configuration here in the Villages. Are they in demand? They are if you have deep pockets and there are a lot of people looking for a home with those pockets.