[Indy-Guy]

May 06, 2008 07:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time PermalinkTo save a permanent link to this news, right-click the dateline (Ctl-click on a Mac) to copy the link.
The Villages is a Retail Safe Haven
Recession Proof Retirement Income Supports Largest Growing Community in the U.S.

THE VILLAGES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In spite of the national home building crisis, The Villages sold over 2,400 homes last year and gained 5,000 new residents. This brought the total population to almost 70,000, which is larger than Daytona Beach.

“This year is running even stronger than last year,” said Gary Morse, CEO of The Villages. “We are averaging 7 ½ homes a day, 7 days a week! This will make The Villages about the size of Melbourne by the end of this year.”

The Villages is a self contained Active Retirement Community with 80 restaurants, 4 hotels, 2 movie theaters, 2 town centers, 8 shopping centers, 2.5 million sq ft of retail and commercial space, a daily newspaper, TV news network, radio station, hospital, 225 physicians, 15 pharmacies, 9 softball fields, 187 softball teams with 2,800 players, 42 neighborhood swimming pools at 42 recreation centers and 441 holes of golf in 9 country clubs and 24 executive courses.

Now that the building crisis has spread to commercial real estate, retailers and restaurateurs are moving to The Villages because of continuing growth of affluent retirees. The average Villages’ household has a recession proof income of $81,480.

Golf carts are a prime mode of transportation in The Villages. There are 35,873 homes in The Villages, (growing at a rate of 7 ½ per day) and 37,769 golf carts. Some homes have more than one cart.

They are fun to drive at a leisurely retirement pace and with gasoline approaching $4, it’s nice to know you are traveling for about 6 cents a mile. With 85 miles of golf cart trails, everything in The Villages from the hospital to Target to theaters and restaurants are as accessible by golf cart as they are by automobiles.

Crossman & Company handles the retail leasing for The Villages, FL including the town centers of “Lake Sumter Landing”, “Spanish Springs”, plus the “Buffalo Ridge” and “Bellaire” shopping centers. The Villages is the largest single-site mixed-use real estate development in the U.S. and currently home to major retail and restaurant tenants including: Publix, Fresh Market, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Barnes & Noble, Belk, Bealls, Bonefish Grill, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Sweet Bay, TGI Friday’s, Chico’s, Ruby Tuesday’s, Target, Outback, Carrabas, Bass, Izod, JoS. A. Bank and Red Lobster.

[Muncle]

Good article with so good info. Thanx.

I was most interested in the ratio of homes to carts (35,873 homes and 37,769 golf carts). Quite a few more carts than I thought. Kinda surprised that they do not mention available bowling alleys. Don't know if it's still true, but I was told at one time there were more bowlers than golfers in TV. An aside, I'm also surprised TV has not built another bowling alley down south if what I heard had any truth to it --- and I am definitely not a bowler.

[chuckinca]

Wonder how they get a count of the carts?

Using the $81K average annual income info is a bit deceiving and could be a negative to those of us making half or less that that when we fully give up our paper routes.

[sandybill2]

good article. I, too, wonder where the 81K figure came from--certainly not from my tax return!!!!!!!!!! :dontknow:

[chuckinca]

Originally Posted by sandybill2

good article. I, too, wonder where the 81K figure came from--certainly not from my tax return!!!!!!!!!! :dontknow:

I believe that it's a number the developer published based upon average income of TV buyers. There is probably a huge difference in income when you buy and income when you move to TV.

[jadebox]

Probably those people that buy the $500000-$1,000,000+ homes bring up the average income. Leaves a lot of us on the lower side.
We own 4 golf carts so help to bring that total up. The survey asked how many carts you own so the number may have come from that.

[Boomer]

I can't get my head around "recession proof income."

I understand golf carts vs. gas prices which is most obvious now. I realize that some pensions may have some increases built in. SS does, too, I think. There is probably a big market for annuities in TV. (I don't begin to understand those.) Long consistent dividend paying stocks should increase the dividend consistently. There are bonds that will save you some taxes. (Can't include CD's. Never really make money anyway but the sleep factor helps sometimes. If you have chased a CD rate lately, you know that any hope of any return that ever remotely existed in a CD is now off the table.)

But still, what is "recession proof income"?

I keep wondering how many golf carts it could take to haul the grocery money to the store.

The article does not say "recession proof net worth" even. (Ya know. Actuarial tables and all that.) It says "recession proof income."

A few weeks ago, I did a little Stim. Sell Research and learned that there is no check in the mail for me. So what? I would have just invested it anyway. I guess somebody knew that.

But back to this "recession proof income." I don't know what it is, but I want it.

What glaring, staring ingredient in a "recession proof income" am I not seeing?

Or should the writer have said, "recession resistant income, sort of, maybe somewhat"?

Boomer

[Irish Rover]

If the article was based on ownership of houses in TV then Im sure that those owners who are absentee and still working skewed the income number. I think we all know couples who only spend a few weeks in TV and rent out their home the rest of the year. These are usually two income families who plan to move when they retire. There are also a large number of people who speculated on the homes in TV for rental and resale. They obviously have larger incomes. The $81,000 income didn't shock me but I assumed that TV was populated by middle and upper middle class with higher than average incomes. My bad. Other than the inaccurate income level if it is inaccurate, it seems like a good article.

[Russ_Boston]

I ran the math on another thread last year but here it is again:

It only takes one high income (and yes they do exist within the realm of TV owners) in the $500,000 range to make the average of 81K realistic. If you had one 500K income person out of 15 then the average of the other 14 would need to be 51K which is more realistic.

More than likely the average is skewed by multiple 100k+ incomes instead of one large 500K income but you get the point.

Heck the guy i played golf with on my preview visit just bought a $650,000 TV house cash! While he still owns his main home and two retreats on the lake and in the mountains.

[TomW]

I'm guessing that "recession proof income" was a reference to pensions and social security payments that don't vary with the condition of the larger economy. Obviously those with investment income MAY be more sensitive to the macro economy. Again, I'm only guessing at the writer's reference.

[Indy-Guy]

I would guess that a lot of the people who own and rent their places out are still employed and that would run the average income up.

I can't remember for sure but I think that we were asked about income on our most recent owners survey. If someone else can let me know for sure if it was on the survey or not.

If they are using a figure that was given at the time of purchase then many people were still working at time of purchase. Also if someone can let me know if we were asked that question at the time of purchase. I purchased 4 years ago.

[Boomer]

I was in a hurry to leave this morning and I should not have even looked in. But I did. And when I saw those words "recession proof retirement income" I was off and running. And I was almost late for my appointment. And it was for my hair so it was extremely important.

Anyway, it was not the $81,000+ income that surprised me. Like all of you said, there are many ways to arrive at that. And my guess is that included in that calculation are a lot of two pension households.

But the words "recession proof retirement income" I just did not get.

Originally Posted by TomW

I'm guessing that "recession proof income" was a reference to pensions and social security payments that don't vary with the condition of the larger economy. Obviously those with investment income MAY be more sensitive to the macro economy. Again, I'm only guessing at the writer's reference.

TomW, I think you are right. The writer must be referring to "the check is in the mail until the day you die" retirement income. And he may also mean that retirees can't lose jobs to a recession.

But there I was, thinking that "recession proof retirement income" sounds like it never loses buying power.

Darn. I was so hoping there was some secret, some nuance, to recession proofing income that I had somehow missed.

Oh, and my little snit about my Stim. Sell Research and how there will be no check for me -- That was about unearned income not qualifying in a lot of circumstances. I am irrelevant to that political play. I did not like the whole thing anyway. But I am way more worried about unearned income from investments and what will happen after 2010. I grow weary of hearing about those tax cuts for the rich. I'm not rich. Just trying to make some income on investments and not be devoured by taxes. (Uh oh. Sorry. )

So anyway, I have my question answered. It was not the answer I wanted. But I believe it is the answer. My definition is just different from the writer's definition of "recession proof retirement income." By my definition, there is no such thing. Income that can buffer recession? Maybe.

Boomer

[Russ_Boston]

Originally Posted by Boomer BeBack

A few weeks ago, I did a little Stim. Sell Research

Boomer - what is Stim. Sell Research? I must be missing something.

Thanks - Russ

[Boomer]

Hi Russ,

When I first heard of the stimulus package, I thought it sounded like a sad sellout of the American people, along with so many others by Congress. I still think so. But, of course, once this whole bread and circuses thing was a done deal, I figured that I might as well start looking into what was in it for me. At that point, what else could I do? Right? I called that little project my stim sell research. And to heap insult upon injury, my stim sell research netted me nada. It's that unearned income thing.

(I think it does look a little better with the period out. Maybe I should have done it that way.)

So anyway. Thanks for asking. I should have been more clear. It was pretty lame.

Now, here is the part where I am typing really, really fast because this is one of my disclaimers. The disclaimer says that I am not trying to take this thread any further into the political arena than I already have.

You know, I really do need to learn to stop flinging my words into cyberspace, leaving the house, and half way to where I am going suddenly thinking, "Oh :edit:, whatinthehell did I write back there?" I really do not intend to get political. But I find myself drawn into the discussions on the economy. I should just stick to confessing all my secret loves for unlikely famous men and making you all hear my fear that Mr. Boomer will leave me for Paula Deen.

When I arrived at TOTV last winter, I was relatively sane and I had led an excruciatingly responsible life. Now I think I may have turned into a certifiable whackadoo. But it is fun.

Boomer

[jjdees]

Boomer, Welcome to the group.