[CassieInVa]

The main thing to understand, and has already been mentioned above, is that you have to use or should use both a regular MLS Realtor and a Villages Realtor if looking for a resale home, because one cannot sell the other . So in order to see every resale home on the market, you have to work with two different Realtors.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by VApeople

Based on what we see on Zillow.com, it looks like a lot of houses in The Villages are not selling well. We have seen quite a few that have been on the market for six months or more and have undergone multiple price reductions.

With information on the internet available, Purchasers have become very knowledgeable.
Overpriced houses don't sell, or houses that are undesirable for other reasons.
Many purchasers find a noisy location or a house with smokers not to their liking.
Many sellers overprice their home, thinking the "right purchaser" will see the value. This leads to multiple price reductions.
Well priced houses that show well tend to sell quickly at this time of year.

[goodtimesintv]

Originally Posted by VApeople

Based on what we see on Zillow.com, it looks like a lot of houses in The Villages are not selling well. We have seen quite a few that have been on the market for six months or more and have undergone multiple price reductions.

Those are MLS listings and they were priced wrongly.

The Villages listings--priced accurately--are not shown on those MLS sites.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by goodtimesintv

Those are MLS listings and they were priced wrongly. The Villages listings--priced accurately--are not shown on those MLS sites.

Good point. I agree that listings by Village agents are usually priced more accurately than MLS listings. IMHO.

[rubicon]

If I were selling my home it would not be through The Villages realtors whose first priority is to sell new and only secondly if the seller is selling so s/he could buy new in The Villages. In other words if you are selling to move out of town your listing is always going to go to the back of line with TV realtors . I'm sure they would deny it but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

[twoplanekid]

60% of the resale market and 100% of the new is controlled by the Villages sales staff. As such, anyone would be foolish not to work with then as well as independent sales agents. Our Village sales agent showed us both new and resale. On the face of things, the prices of new look much better then resale until you consider the bond, upgrades and other amenities added to a resale. However, we did purchase a new house.

And the following from page 43 of the SLCDD 9/10/2015 Agenda PDF


The information appearing herein regarding The Villages and the Developer has been furnished by the Developer.
..............

Historical annual home closings and historical annual average sales prices (home and lot) in The
Villages are as follows:

Year Homes Sold (Home and Lot) Average Sale Price
1986 511 *
1987 543 *
1988 517 *
1989 542 $ 74,000
1990 502 79,000
1991 430 81,000
1992 562 87,000
1993 567 93,000
1994 686 98,000
1995 700 106,000
1996 753 115,000
1997 1,054 119,000
1998 1,321 129,000
1999 1,544 139,000
2000 1,776 151,000
2001 2,074 156,000
2002 2,260 163,000
2003 3,329 168,000
2004 3,955 204,000
2005 4,263 232,000
2006 3,935 257,000
2007 2,403 251,000
2008 2,236 231,000
2009 2,115 229,000
2010 2,208 231,000
2011 2,307 241,000
2012 2,850 244,000
2013 3,419 271,000
2014 2,601 304,000
2015** 1,319 304,000

___________________________
* Not applicable.
**Seven months ending July 31, 2015.
The Developer employs six general contractors who subcontract all of the home construction of the single-family, site-built homes. The Developer also supervises outside engineering firms and contracts all of the development site work.

On average, the Developer believes that approximately five percent of the existing homes in The Villages resell in any given year. The resale of existing homesites are facilitated by a real estate brokerage firm affiliated with the Developer and other unaffiliated realtors and are not included in the above table. The Developer believes that this real estate brokerage firm has an approximately 60% market share. As of July 31, 2015, the real estate brokerage firm affiliated with the Developer had approximately 352 resale home listings.

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

60% of the resale market and 100% of the new is controlled by the Villages sales staff. As such, anyone would be foolish not to work with then as well as independent sales agents. Our Village sales agent showed us both new and resale. On the face of things, the prices of new look much better then resale until you consider the bond, upgrades and other amenities added to a resale. However, we did purchase a new house.



And the following from page 43 of the SLCDD 9/10/2015 Agenda PDF





The information appearing herein regarding The Villages and the Developer has been furnished by the Developer.

..............



Historical annual home closings and historical annual average sales prices (home and lot) in The

Villages are as follows:



Year Homes Sold (Home and Lot) Average Sale Price

1986 511 *

1987 543 *

1988 517 *

1989 542 $ 74,000

1990 502 79,000

1991 430 81,000

1992 562 87,000

1993 567 93,000

1994 686 98,000

1995 700 106,000

1996 753 115,000

1997 1,054 119,000

1998 1,321 129,000

1999 1,544 139,000

2000 1,776 151,000

2001 2,074 156,000

2002 2,260 163,000

2003 3,329 168,000

2004 3,955 204,000

2005 4,263 232,000

2006 3,935 257,000

2007 2,403 251,000

2008 2,236 231,000

2009 2,115 229,000

2010 2,208 231,000

2011 2,307 241,000

2012 2,850 244,000

2013 3,419 271,000

2014 2,601 304,000

2015** 1,319 304,000



___________________________

* Not applicable.

**Seven months ending July 31, 2015.

The Developer employs six general contractors who subcontract all of the home construction of the single-family, site-built homes. The Developer also supervises outside engineering firms and contracts all of the development site work.



On average, the Developer believes that approximately five percent of the existing homes in The Villages resell in any given year. The resale of existing homesites are facilitated by a real estate brokerage firm affiliated with the Developer and other unaffiliated realtors and are not included in the above table. The Developer believes that this real estate brokerage firm has an approximately 60% market share. As of July 31, 2015, the real estate brokerage firm affiliated with the Developer had approximately 352 resale home listings.

Whatever happened with the urban legend concerning the new Fruitland Park houses. The one that broadcasted the minimum house price would be 500K. It died without so much as a whimper. [emoji849]

[VApeople]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

Good point. I agree that listings by Village agents are usually priced more accurately than MLS listings. IMHO.

We have also been looking at new homes for sale on Thevillages.com website, and many of them have had large price reductions. When we look at the houses on a map, most of them appear to be on undesirable lots.

My guess is that all of the new homes on good lots have already been sold and The Villages realtors have decided to cut the price on the remaining houses just to get them sold.

It is kind of like department stores having an after-Christmas sale.

[VApeople]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

Many sellers overprice their home, thinking the "right purchaser" will see the value.

I think you are absolutely right.

When we look at resales on the computer, we see many houses where the owners have made 'improvements' that they must believe increase the value of their houses. For example, we saw one house that had been on the market for a year and had multiple realtors listing the house.

I bet the realtors have lots of frustrating stories to tell.

[rhart]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

Good point. I agree that listings by Village agents are usually priced more accurately than MLS listings. IMHO.

...and as usual FSBO's are often overprice since they don't have an agent to talk sense into them

[goodtimesintv]

I'd leave behind the ways of looking for a home we all used in our past states/cities/towns.

There, we wanted a home in certain areas because of the school district, commute or no commute to work, neighborhood with lots of families sending kids to school on the bus, good shopping, property taxes, police effectiveness, low crime, etc.

We also wanted substantial square footage for the price because of raising a family and we all need some space to ourselves--like a nice big finished basement family room plus guest bedroom and bath.

Here, it's different. We wanted (and got) a place that is centrally located with access to all 3 town squares, great neighbors doing lots of socials, and a house that is 1/3 of the size we had for our family. But the house is "just right". Not too big, not too small, and we both have our own den/mancave/getaway rooms. We are gone a lot during the day and evening, so the house doesn't matter so much here.

Before, the house was important. Now, our location and neighbors are far more important. We all stick together and help each other out if the car needs to be in the mechanic shop; we're going away for a week or two or a few months; dog sitting each others' dog in its own home; loaning our golf cart or golf clubs to friends having guests; helping recently widowed or divorced people get back on their feet and socialized again.

Socialization is super important for both couples and singles who are moving away from "home" and network of relatives/friends in other states. Neighbors close by whom you know and can trust become very, very important to a happy, healthy life as we grow older.

With that, it becomes important to be with neighbors who are young enough to want to socialize, and healthy enough to help each other.

[manaboutown]

I would go both ways, so to speak; utilize both MLS Realtors and TV agents (who, as I understand it, are not Realtors). Based on my experiences in the past one never knows where and how the home one ultimately purchases will turn up.

I have heard that TV's agents are paid higher commissions for the sale of new homes. After all, any developer stays in business by selling its inventory. My personal experience with a TV agent reflects this belief. Therefore, if a person wishes to pursue looking at TV's resales I suggest he/she seek out a TV agent willing and able to show and sell resales. Check their track record for selling resales.

[baustgen]

The thing to keep in mind is that if you buy a new spec house from the villages there will be about $10000 in add on's that are not normally in spec houses. Stairs to attic, gutters all around, additional landscaping, power attic vent, window treatments, and inside painting. These are normally already done in used houses adding to the cost. And if the bond is paid your taxes will be considerably less.

[biker1]

Power attic vents (power ventilator through the roof) are not such a great idea - lots of links on the internet to studies. The rest of the things, for sure. Don't forget the obligatory epoxy garage coating ;-)

Originally Posted by baustgen

The thing to keep in mind is that if you buy a new spec house from the villages there will be about $10000 in add on's that are not normally in spec houses. Stairs to attic, gutters all around, additional landscaping, power attic vent, window treatments, and inside painting. These are normally already done in used houses adding to the cost. And if the bond is paid your taxes will be considerably less.

[HimandMe]

Keep all options open. mls By realtors, TV sales people and private sellers. A good buy on something you love could come from any of them. If you have a list of what upgrades cost to put in, that too will help but if the upgrades are ten to fiften years old, discount them accordingly and with new homes, remember the codes have changed so things have also been upgraded that come with a 2o15 house and so on. It takes some thinking but lists definitely help the process. Also remember resale value.
We bought new but only because we wanted a privacy wall and the bigger second bedroom the Lily offers to make a Decent tv room so that the television didnt dominate the home. It was the best deal with these at the time. Everyone has their own criteria.