What a puppy!!

Just be patient. Everything will come to your doorstep in time. We moved to The Villages in 2004 when 466 was a 2 lane road with cow pastures and farms on both sides. Here we are now with every imaginable store within 15 minutes drive. Just be patient it will come to you who live in the far south end.

We have built in St Cats and love it. Been to Spanish Springs twice in golf cart - takes 1 hour and 5 minutes. Once Kilwins opens down here we wont ever need to go there again.
Lake Sumter Landing is 45 minutes by cart. Its only draw is Thai Ruby.
Brownwood is 30 minutes by cart. It has all we need in terms of restaurants and square activities.
Once Sawgrass opens, we will stay more local - it is a 10 minute walk for us or 2 minutes by golf cart. Publix in Lake Deaton is 20 minutes by cart.
Our home is worth 30% more now than what we paid for it 8 months ago. We cant hear anything from the turnpike. The prison is very far away. The only drawback to living here is the construction. St Cats is almost all done - i think there are only 3 lots left awaiting build start.
You all are welcome to north of 44. I'll keep our fabulous walking and biking trails.
To each their own.

I agree when looking at a house you have no time to look around
 

House will be sold before you can even look around neighborhood

Paths below 44
 

The paths behind Saint Catherine's and beyond, that have retention ponds on one side, and conservation land on the other, are gorgeous.

The turnpike is a straight run in this area, so no trucks downshifting, just tire noise, distant, and easily tuned out.

Boy oh boy, ain't that the truth! Certainly seems to work out that way for me.

and bitter.

How incredibly sad to live like this. Bitter. Angry. Only an internet forum as a friend.

BEANIE BABIES ! Should have sold at the peak.

"Frenzy" is a good word in this case. I was talking to a guy who provides private shuttle service, and he said that in July of this year, houses in The Villages were selling at the rate of 50 per DAY. That was just through The Villages agents; there are outside agents who sell homes in The Villages as well.

I don't know. It sounds like an exaggeration. But he's lived here for 14 years and knows a lot of people, so it could be true.

I believe when Sawgrass opens there will be a major parking problem at that site. Latest drone videos shows this. Much like the Fenney Putt & Play had no parking for cars and only golf carts.

I wonder if the number of resales is all that many, as a percentage of homes sold. I can think of several reasons, and not all of them are a reflection on the area's desirability.
It isn't hard to imagine that some people may find, after a year, that TV in general is not "for them". I know more than a few folks who moved to Florida, or away from "home" in the Northeast to find they didn't want to stay. Could be weather, or grandchildren, medical care, or whatever, they just opted to go back north.
Some folks may have decided they like TV just fine, but wish they'd bought in another area.
Whatever the reason, if there were any misgivings about the decision to buy where they bought, might as well take advantage of the resale value and get out while the getting is good. For all those sellers, there seem to be more than enough buyers.

There are many, many flippers in The Villages including Real Estate Agents. They buy new houses, add a couple things, flip it after one year. I know several that do this and they make hundreds of thousands.

And this drives the cost higher and higher. As long as the Boomers keep buying, the flippers will flip.

Living the dream south of 44
 

And Pokemon cards! We donated son's cards to Goodwill, so perhaps someone got a great deal.

PS I sometimes read complete threads from beginning to end. I've learned a lot doing that. In this one, I've learned that financial acumen is somewhat rare. Several of my neighbors have done very well buying, renting, then reselling here in the Villages. They own several homes simultaneously. One they live in, and a few nearby they can rent to snowbirds and take care of. Of course, they have to have the capital and financial resources to do this. The last two years have been very good south of 44.

PPS Wife and I live in Marsh Bend, and we are happy with our home; we compromised. We have great neighbors, and are minutes away from the primary activities we engage in. If we were to move, we'd have to find a similar neighborhood, and start all over making new friends. We're sticking with the stock market to park our money. Much too late in life to start real estate investments.

PPPS We initially thought we'd buy and live somewhere between 466 and 466A. We are quite happy that we found Marsh Bend, south of 44. The price of resales has skyrocketed in the last year.

Not a new rule. This was in place when we bought in 2013.

I believe it! Our Son moved to Miami from NYC. He is warmer in the Winter and cooler in the Summer.
However, the traffic is a nightmare in Miami. Everything has tradeoffs.

The flippers are riding the wave, not creating the wave.

Spot on ! And, have also encountered folks who found exactly the opposite too.... UP sizing to a pool home was not all they thought it would be...LOL... so I guess it works both ways.

That is definitely true ! Of most coastal areas including Miami.

You nailed it! They are surfing the housing market. Catch a Wave - Beach Boys - YouTube

And we've had way too many friends who came to visit us, were blinded by the dazzling sights, and despite our GENTLE cautions (who wants to get dictatorial to their friends !) to "take it easy", "do a LOT of investigating", come down and "rent for a season", several just jumped (one the very week they were here to visit us) and as they say.... buyer's regrets; wrong area, lots of noise, lots of lights, train whistles all night, loud explosive "booms" and the list goes on, and on, and on..... take your TIME people, also a LOT of other communities in this area of Florida to explore, something for everyone... but let's face it, The Villages, with the music on the squares every night and the golf cart access to nearly anything, people see "one big party", like they are at a resort for a week, and unfortunately lose a grip on the common sense they (probably) applied to every previous real estate transaction they've made in their lives... and then they make mistakes ! Others get lucky, and their impulsive buying turns out to be their perfect home location, be it near, or FAR, from what they hoped. But, in the end, doing a LOT of "homework" is the best plan for most folks ! Until we moved here, it never occurred to me that people who have never played golf in their lives, and have no idea of the game, would ever choose to live right on a course. In our previous life, it seems the non golfers always chose the lots on the OTHER side from the golf course, and we golfers built right on the course....knowing what we were in for. Here, I often hear people complaining about how often their home is hit by golf balls, and how they always wonder when one will come right through the window one day ... guess a lot of people have no idea that living at the edge of a fairway does open one to erratic shots/balls ?

Buying on a golf course and then complaining about balls hitting your house is like living next to an airport and then complaining about the noise level. People who buy sight unseen on the internet or via a Facetime are completely nuts to me.

Purchased and lived on a golf course once. I won't make that mistake again.

It may have something to do with which hole your home is on. Don't buy on the first hole and don't buy on the last. That's where people congregate.

If you are on the first hole, you are awoken early in the morning by the start of play. But, they do finish earlier and you can enjoy the late afternoon, early evening in peace. If you are on the last hole, they continue to play after dark. It seems as if they will never leave.

Our home was on the 18th tee. Our most irritating problem was male golfer's deciding to use our yard as a bathroom. They would have been drinking and couldn't make it to the clubhouse. It didn't seem to matter if anyone was in the yard, either. They'd just unzip and let it rip.

Bottom line, I won't do a golf course lot again.

We are happy here but in hindsight wish we would have waited a bit to buy and found ourselves a 4 bedroom.

They also have the lawn mowers going early in the morning before they start teeing off. I bet you learn lots of good swear words too. I prefer my house on a cul-de-sac.

You know why they call it "Golf"?

It's because all of the other 4-letter words were taken... :icon_wink:

Life happens
 

Change is constant and you never know what life will bring.