[rustyp]

So far 15 responses to the original question - only one with data. Data may not be accurate but sure is a step above emotion.

[kentucky blue]

Originally Posted by rustyp

Per Zillow.com from home values from 2007 to present:

1. The Villages -23.7%
2. Across the U.S. -23.3%
3. Across the state of Florida -50.6%

Zillow is a joke,it is only as good as information it has at hand, and most of the time they don't have all the details needed to make an accurate assessment.There standard deviations can be off from 25%-50%.Wall Street Journal stated that Zillow is "a fun little tool that doesn't bring much to the table."
When villagers, who bought homes in TV during the 2005- 2008 time frame, and tell me they made money or broke even on the recent sale of their home, i have serious doubts.They don't include the cost of upgrades to the home and most had to pay a real estate commission.Bottomline,if you didn't lose money during that time frame,you are one of the very few.In TV, we are all still winners,you cannot put a value on the lifestyle,it's.............................. Priceless!!!!

[jackz]

Originally Posted by rustyp

So far 15 responses to the original question - only one with data. Data may not be accurate but sure is a step above emotion.

And are you providing additional data or expressing YOUR emotions?

[jmac1031]

Ditto on trying to use Zillow as a reliable! Being in real estate in Wisconsin for the past 11 years, I find buyers love to use Zillow to drag seller's prices down, and sellers hate to admit that prices have receded at all when crazy numbers from Zillow are presented. Bottom line, it still comes down to buyers and sellers agreeing on the perceived value based on localized data keeping in mind it still has to appraise!!!

House is sold here and can't wait to build in Sanibel in 2012!

[eweissenbach]

MLS mrket analysis last 4 years, by county

http://root.z57.com/filemanager/uplo...58ea553b0f.pdf

[bonrich]

We purchased our CYV in April 2010 and sold it December 2011. It was a model home fully furnished. We added landscaping, tiled the lanai, laundry room cabinets, accent wall painting, etc. We had our home appraised and was told the usual sell price would be approx 96% of the listing price.
We sold in about 28 days and we are happy with the final sale price. You cannot look at the amount you put into your home, because you will not get always get it back, but what it does do is to make your home more saleable and different the other CYV's that are on the market.
We are currently building in Sanibel and will close end of February. We have been happy with the choices that have been made available in TV and look forward to be a part of the new Village of Sanibel.

[graciegirl]

If you want to know the price people PAID for a home that is listed for sale, MOST can be found in sumterpa.com. Click on search and either put in address or just street and/or name.

Note: Do NOT type in second part of street name such as Cookie LOOP...just type in Cookie.

At a certain time here, probably around 2006, homes were selling for higher prices here and also in most of the rest of the country too. If you look for homes built in 2001, you will probably see quite an increase in what the homes are selling for. If you want to know the ages of each village, I THINK you MIGHT find it in search on this forum.

[bloisy]

I want to thank everyone for replying.I was not looking for stats I was looking for response from real people with real experiences.STEVE

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by bloisy

I want to thank everyone for replying.I was not looking for stats I was looking for response from real people with real experiences.STEVE

As a Canadian, I'm sure you're aware that U.S. immigration laws only allows us to live in the U.S. 182 days in a calendar year. We treasure our 182 days in TV, and we're very happy that we made the decision to purchase here!

[lightworker888]

and love coming to our CYV in the Spring and the Fall as those are the best times for fabulous weather in TV. Summer in Canada is great weather too so we have from the end of Feb to the end of Nov. in the sun and still manage to be in the US for just 182 days. We rent out our place for Jan & Feb and that covers the majority of our upkeep for the year. Works for us.


LW888

[handyman]

Originally Posted by jackz

From my experience with real estate investments both in California and Florida, take Zillow with a grain of salt. They have not proven very accurate in many markets.

Our bottom line, and I think of a number of others, is that the home we build in Sanibel this year is our RETIREMENT home as we will be Frogs. That said, we intend to live in it till the end so whether it goes up or down is not as critical to us. Might be critical to the heirs but not to us. As has been said in this thread, "You are buying the lifestyle as well as the home"....

[rustyp]

Originally Posted by bloisy

Hi I am a Canadian looking at buying a place in the villages.I have been checking it out on line and on this thread. But my concern is has the value of your homes gone down alot because of the sub prime morgage scandals.Or has it not gone down because most people have their houses paid for.I was in lakeland last year and alot of the homes in the retirement mobile homes were up for sale and not selling.I see alot of units in the villages for sale.Are they selling and are people losing money.THANKS STEVE

After some people shot the messenger for replying with data (I was trying to be helpfull) I reviewed your question carefully again. I am confused by your question. Are you asking if a house with a morgage (any kind, sub prime included) is worth something different than a house without a morgage?

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by rustyp

So far 15 responses to the original question - only one with data. Data may not be accurate but sure is a step above emotion.

Originally Posted by rustyp

Per Zillow.com from home values from 2007 to present:
1. The Villages -23.7%
2. Across the U.S. -23.3%
3. Across the state of Florida -50.6%

Originally Posted by rustyp

After some people shot the messenger for replying with data (I was trying to be helpfull) I reviewed your question carefully again. I am confused by your question. Are you asking if a house with a morgage (any kind, sub prime included) is worth something different than a
house without a morgage?

I think that Steve was asking if house prices in TV have gone down, based on people's true life experiences.

[KYWildcat]

I am a Fort Myers area real estate appraiser. I report in depth the current market conditions, trends, etc. in my appraisal reports. I perform appraisals for litagation, estates, ERC relocation, private purposes for other than lending and some lending appraisals. I have almost stopped doing appraisals for lending purposes due to the fact that the majority of the lending work is through 3rd parties and they do not want to pay the higher fees that I request. The exception to that is the old established banks that I work as sub contractor. For the majority of my markets in Southwest Florida (Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Bonita Springs, Naples, Punta Gorda, etc) the markets have been stabile for the last 3-6 quarters. The less sought after properties in this area, I would have to do much more extensive research on each market prior to making that statement since the general market is made up of many, many different markets. The median priced home in Lee County sold for $322,000 (realtor assisted) at the market highs in Dec 2005. Today, I believe its $105,000 depending on which monthly data you utilize. I have sold my condo for 3.5% more than I purchased one year ago. There are slight monthly variances but the overall trend is stabile.

I signed a contract on a house in the Villages (Santiago) yesterday and will moving to The Villages on or about March 1. This has been a very planned purchase/ move over the last several months. I have been researching the market in the Villages for quite some lengthy time. According to my data, it is considered a stabile market. I have not reseached when the market highs were experienced but the last 3-6 quarters I have seen from my collection of data, a stabile market does exist. I will say that The Villages probably had less decline in values from the market highs than anywhere else in the state of Florida. The Villages have something that no one else can offer. They are still expanding at the rate of 200/ month new homes and they are not exactly spec houses. There are relative few if any foreclosure sales or short sales. In my search for bank/reo & shorts as a potential buyer, I found less than 10 total with the majority in the lower priced properties. The contract I signed yesterday was for $195,000 which was my offer. And I believe that being an appraiser, I offered the fair market value. (list was $215,000) Looking in the county records on this particular property, the prior sale was 02/2007 for $235,000. The owner also did many upgrades since purchase.

I look forward to my retirement in The Villages now. I might maintain my appraisal business on a very limited basis. I am licensed in the state of Florida.

[KYWildcat]

One thing I forgot to make a point of in my prior postings. When the market was in its steady declines from the high in 2005 in the Southwest Florida area of anywhere from 1-2% per month for the next 4-5 years. You always heard the realtors state..."now is the time to buy" .....(I guess) Too many eskimos eating something or else smoking something funny)