[rbs3327]

I have owned a villa in the villages for a few years but would like to sell it. Do any of you know how much of a beating the property values have taken over the past couple of years?

Thanks for any feedback you can give me.

Bob

[pqrstar]

You can go to these sites and search for some resales comparable to your home.

http://www.thevillages.com/homes/poh.asp

http://www.thevillagesfsbo.com/

[Barefoot]

You can get a Comparative Market Analysis from an MLS Rep or a Villages Rep with no obligation.

That would be your best source of comparative information since they know the local market.

[hunt9791]

We bought a Villa [Stoneybrook] in May of 2008 brand new for about $220K. Looked at one nice resale which had been purchased in 2005, the asking price was 280K. So it seemed to us that Villa's 3 BR variety, were down about 40K or so!

[golfnut]

Every home/villa is unique, if you're serious you need to contact a real estate agent, not sure we (certainly not me) are qualified to give you an answer.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by hunt9791

We bought a Villa [Stoneybrook] in May of 2008 brand new for about $220K. Looked at one nice resale which had been purchased in 2005, the asking price was 280K. So it seemed to us that Villa's 3 BR variety, were down about 40K or so!

Not sure if you are adding your bond amount to the $220,000 you paid for your Villa. Buyers often "forget" about the bond and think it isn't part of the base price. But it is. The bond is normally much higher in a new home. You will often find a bond paid or almost paid in a resale.

You have to compare apples to apples. List prices of resales can be very misleading when compared to new home prices.

If a resale home has a view, or privacy, the price may be much higher. There may be improvements, and expensive ones, like birdcages, sun tunnels, hardwood floors, etc.

And remember, on resales, the list price is NOT the sale price. Many houses and villas are listed way high to start. And either the price is reduced or they accept a much lower offer.

As a former realtor, I can assure you that only a real estate agent has the detail information to do an accurate comparative market analysis.

Good post - those are the facts in a nutshell.

[beartrack]

Realtors are working folks just trying to make ends meet during this awful market turn down. I believe that each sale, for the most part, should be judged on it's own merit. How anxious are the sellers to sell? How badly do the buyers want that particular house? and the list goes on. What I am trying to say is that each transaction takes on a life of it's own. And both parties need to make a determination as to how important that deal is to them. I don't think that in this market (if you are going to buy another property) that price is all that important if you are realistic about current market value. You might have to reduce your sale price in order to sell but, when you buy, that also will be at a reduced price based on the market values. In more simple terms "Sell low then buy low" This philosophy just levels the playing field. Does it not?

Our home was on the market for 16 months. We recieved no offers for 12 of those months. Then the realtors from different companys brought us some offers. All were approximately 40% below asking price. Almost as if it were choregraphed. One buyer really wanted our place and we were able to negotiate a satisfactory deal.

We have been looking at The Villages real estate for at least two years and on a recent visit discovered that some of the homes that we saw a year ago are still for sale and at significantly lower prices. We have decided to rent for awhile untill we find that right home for us. We have a couple of rentals lined up but, if anyone out there knows of another, let us know.

Thanks,

beartrack

[MMC24]

We purchased a new TV home 2.5 years ago at about the top of the housing Market. The same newly constructed home today is being offered at about $50K less. Obviously, if we tried to sell our home today, we would be taking a huge loss even though we have made many improvements and the bond is fully paid. Thank God we love TV and have no intentions of selling or moving to another village. Just have to ride this one out!!!

[laud]

Originally Posted by beartrack

Realtors are working folks just trying to make ends meet during this awful market turn down. I believe that each sale, for the most part, should be judged on it's own merit. How anxious are the sellers to sell? How badly do the buyers want that particular house? and the list goes on. What I am trying to say is that each transaction takes on a life of it's own. And both parties need to make a determination as to how important that deal is to them. I don't think that in this market (if you are going to buy another property) that price is all that important if you are realistic about current market value. You might have to reduce your sale price in order to sell but, when you buy, that also will be at a reduced price based on the market values. In more simple terms "Sell low then buy low" This philosophy just levels the playing field. Does it not?

Our home was on the market for 16 months. We recieved no offers for 12 of those months. Then the realtors from different companys brought us some offers. All were approximately 40% below asking price. Almost as if it were choregraphed. One buyer really wanted our place and we were able to negotiate a satisfactory deal.

We have been looking at The Villages real estate for at least two years and on a recent visit discovered that some of the homes that we saw a year ago are still for sale and at significantly lower prices. We have decided to rent for awhile untill we find that right home for us. We have a couple of rentals lined up but, if anyone out there knows of another, let us know.

Thanks,

beartrack

We too have been looking for the past 2 years........... My questions is where is everyone going in TV, are they leaving or trying to buy more home???? there seems to be an awful lot of presales on the market.
Laud

[graciegirl]

I have not talked to anyone leaving. Most people move to a house that they like even better. Sometimes that is smaller.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by laud

We too have been looking for the past 2 years........... My questions is where is everyone going in TV, are they leaving or trying to buy more home???? there seems to be an awful lot of presales on the market.
Laud

There will always be a certain portion of homes up for resale. After all, it is a huge retirement community and people do grow old. Many people move on to nursing homes or to live with their families, or (to be blunt) to heaven.

Some people sell their existing home to buy a new house more to their liking.

I have run into a few people (not many) who were moving because they didn't like the summer weather, or found it too congested, or wanted more property.

Most of us are happy, happy, happy in TV.

[graciegirl]

We love it here and wonder how the Village of Heavenly could be better than this. I pinch myself all of the time. I do notice that there are a lot of old people here.

[Russ_Boston]

I think someone did some research on % of homes in TV up for resale. I think the number was less than 3%. With 30,000+ homes that is still a sizable number but the % is not that great and I would think it is actually much less than national average.

[l2ridehd]

If you look at the VLS listings and just do a search on all, the number they have listed runs between 400 and 450 most of the time. VLS has about 60% to 65% of all listings according to all information I can find. That would say MLS (outside realtors) have between 300 and 350. That comes to a max of at most 800. Add the FSBO and you may get to 900. Take the number up to 1000 as the outside most resales on the market available homes for sale out of 35000 and it gets you to something less then 3%. National average during normal times is about 8% and right now probably a lot higher. So anything less then 5% on the resale market in TV is very low by comparison.

I don't know how to evaluate this, but if you could look at the reasons for selling I am sure many are because people die, need to move to assisted living, go to live with children for in home care, or are moving up or down within TV I am sure the number would drop even more.

Bottom line is that this is a unique market and turnover is low when compared to almost anywhere else in the country. So even though you may believe the numbers seems like a lot of homes, for the size of this market it is very low.