Do people really wonder why? It’s a retirement community. It has an inherent turnover rate. People don’t live forever. The local Obituary writer is a busy man.
My visit was eye-opening. And mind you, I visited in 2010 ( 10 yrs before retiring) and absolutely hated it! Long lines at restaurants, crazy golf cart drivers, heavy drinking, and the never ending party atmosphere. Noise, overcrowding, and hoopla was not my idea of retirement. But not to worry, as there seems to be no shortage of folks that love it, and dole out their hard earned savings or income on rising CDD and HOA fees. LOL. More power to 'em.
After seeing some tours of new home interiors/layouts it's ridiculous at the prices. They are built with off the shelf stuff from lowes/home depot, cheapest cabinets, doors, appliances, cheap flooring. They are making a killlllling on the profit margin of building and selling the house.
Sellers are still swinging for the fence and believe the hype still exists, that's why so many homes are on zillow for over 45 days. Realistic pricing will help
@@GaryAbbott Not the realtors I'm talked to told me that even with interest coming down that might be too late. my bank in Florida loan manager told me they are lowing their loan rates on their own. never heard of that before. not to get political but GOP in Florida is blocking and not helping to fix the problems. God help us if Trump get in. China is moving to dis-USA from agriculture set up shop in Brazil for Beans and corn production. With that and EU basically starting to do end runs around USA. The thing is the Politico's have got to put aside ego's and work as a team or it going to be a wild ride. Governor basically a sleep at the wheel.
The main reason is the new builds are being built so fast that takes away from the resales. People are buying new and that just grows the resale market.
Hello Gary!! My husband and I are flying in tomorrow to look at homes!! We couldn't get a lifestyle visit so we are staying at The Waterfront Inn................can't wait to look at homes!! Thanks for all the information!
When we purchased we stayed at the Waterfront as well. It will be great as you are right there next to the town square and dining. Stay cool as it has been unusually hot this summer.
Sorry about no lifestyle visit availability with the villages. REMAX Premier has a program like the lifestyle visit. Let me know if you decide to do another visit and I can see what Remax Premier has available.
I hate moving. I’d prefer to get it right the first time. As a young adult I could move and unpack in one day and it wouldn’t even look like I had moved. My husband hated the chaos of moving. He never packed, lifted a box nor unpacked a box. In fact, I did it all. I was very good at it. He simply disappeared. If my cousins were helping, one would say, “listen to Cynthia. She knows what she’s doing”. It’ll be quick”. I did. It was.I haven’t moved for 34 years and am dreading it.
Thank you so much for your videos and the information you put out. I have really enjoyed them. Please keep it up! I have at least 10 more years before I can retire, but I love the information you have been giving us.
James you have to wait 10 years. I’m sure a lot will change in the Villages in ten years as the number of homes will be twice what they are today. At their current pace that would be over 200,000 homes vs 100,000 that we have now.
The overhead to live there is ridiculous. We have no mortgage with my 1780 sq ft new home on 5 acres in a lush firr forest. Tax and insurance,full replacment policy is 2, 230 dollars a year. My highest electric bill is 150 a month. Its my only utility. Well, septic.wood stove. Split system. My vehicle registatuon is 63 dollars a year. We only use our SSI payout now, which we only need 23 % for all house hold expenditures. We don't need our 401 yet. Our emergency fund is way over 40,000. No I don't need to invest it. Our home is worth way way over 500,000. I won't say. I'll save some for my 5 children. It's not what you make. Its the dept you have in retirment spending. This works for us. We dont like people we like the wilderness. I have a shooting range, and can run a chain saw at 4:00AM. FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds like you have a great home and low expenses in retirement. I think you understand the Villages does bring a lot of pleasure to many who live here which just doesn’t exist outside of the bubble. Thanks for watching.
Bought 6 Homes for $234,999 3 years ago each, Sold them for $475,960 on average each, And made $300,000 in Rental, Thats $1.7 million profit… Im retiring next December and going to live in Portugal, Where i have bought a Villa for £96,000 euros . Just 800 feet from a fabulous beach, 😊
We lived there for 3 years and we left n 2020 for a few reasons. No security, no rental restrictions and just the fact that they bought a ton of land right after we closed on our house in 2017. Enough to double the size of The Villages. However, my medical condition has changed and we are now considering moving back because of that. So, we have been looking at new homes in the new area to return since we would also like to be closer to the airport at MCO and TPA for personal reasons. The prices in the new areas keep dropping which makes it easier to pay cash. Pre owned homes do not seem to be dropping as much but they also are not selling as fast as they once did. Once current Villagers looking to sell realize this is not the same market as even last year, they will have to lower their expectations of the amount of money they will get from a pre-owned home and homes will start selling quicker.
I'd be looking for an older home...one reason is I resent being forced to make a Bond pay't each month as well. So for me that'd probably be from Spanish Springs down to maybe the middle of The Villages where it's 50-50 (?) there's a Bond still due or not. The brand new sections (like in Eastport) are out, mainly due to the (for sure) Bond. I also like the homes "up North" are on slightly larger lots and not so close together, and the streets aren't as narrow. Seems the new areas are putting everything closer together and even making streets narrower. Not good. -- BR
@@living2day617 Hopefully, as with older homes likely to have their Bonds paid off, it's also possible the vinyl siding of older homes might have been replaced as well. Win-win. And roof shingles. Win-win-win. I hope. If not, I'd have to live long enough to care about those things (not likely)...even though The Plan is to live forever and it's going along nicely -- "So far, so good." Still, I have this persistent, nagging feeling I've overlooked something, miscalculated some small detail perhaps. Hmmm... ;-) -- BR
@@johnkom2339 Well, it IS possible. For one reason, The Rapture could happen first: "Then those of us who are still alive..." But really, who knows? In the meantime I'm doing some very serious (but not urgent!) research looking into what colors are available for my golf-car. Presently, Peridot Green is my favorite (being my birthstone). ;-) -- BR
I passed in it based on where it was and the bond fees. I bought in lmdb & it’s very similar. I’ve heard many go sour with the travel from wherever. Others move around. I moved once. Market is definitely struggling but insurance isn’t bad on this side she no ccd bond fees. Is a fantastic place
Great video and great information as always. I noticed you have some upside down pineapples on your shirt Gary, are you hanging a loofa from your car and cart too? You’re going to start some rumors about TV. 😂😂
That’s funny. I think in my three years in the Villages I have seen one loofa on a car. My video on loofa’s is still one of my top 10 most viewed. Thanks for continuing to watch my videos.
Should be but I just don’t see it so far. Also new home sales are up in the second quarter as compared to last year which may be a sign things are heading back up.
I notice that new homes in the newer areas south of 44 are being sold at a discount by The Villages. There were no discounts being given by The Villages when I purchased my new home two years ago. How do you convince a buyer to pay more for a resale?
Check out the bonds in the new builds...could be anywhere from $20-60k (or more). Also, if you buy a resale in Sumter County, your tax bill will be approx. 30% less because you aren't paying Wildwood city tax assessment.
I do think there are some deals as some are getting a lot of home with the trade off of where they are in the Villages which is further from any town squares or recreation centers.
My home isnt in the villages but will be on the market as a direct result of the villages. I built my home near Coleman in 1979 . I didn't sign up for all these homes and all these rude northerners .
Hi Gary - Donna Gamache here. I stumbled across your channel and was so happy to see what you are doing. I retired 2 years ago - are you doing both or are you retired? BTW, we have a place in Vero Beach. So fascinating to learn of the real estate market across the state of Florida! So good to see you!
Nice hearing from you Donna. I retired at the end of May but continued on during a transition period which just so happen to end this week. My wife and I are caretakers for her mom and so we continue to travel between NH and Florida. I have enjoyed making RU-vid videos over the last couple of years as I have a couple of different RU-vid channels. I have found the Villages very enjoyable riding around in my golf cart.
Depends how much you can make as you might not need a new mortgage. I had one person explain how they turned owning multiple homes purchased a few years ago into $1.7 million in profit.
IMO, many investors just bought to flip, the flipping has started. Be patient, list what you want in a home , don’t be afraid to buy in the north section.
@@stonecrestquilt prices are starting to come down, we like it in the north GC ride to Lowe’s, Walmart, many other big box stores. Also an easy ride to Sumter and Brownwood IMO. Homes up north may be more per sqft but all the upgrades to lawn and drives are done.
I would think that seniors, like me, with several hundred thousand in equity, could easily sell and almost fully fund a home in The Villages. My current home is almost completely paid for, and I love to golf. What's not to like? Problem is that I am almost 68, and I have a massive library to move. Wouldn't be easy.
I am planning to move to The Villages in early 2025 in Eastport (Veranda Home/ Eaton or Monroe). It seems to me as of today that the new construction homes are selling for less than 2-5 year old homes. What have you noticed from your observations? I only have the MLS and VLS to draw my conclusion.
My observation is new homes cost more than 2-5 years ago in the Villages and bonds on the homes are higher. But they are much lower than what a home goes for in NJ, NY, or New England. :)
@@GaryAbbott you can add PA to that list. Especially Bucks and Montgomery counties. The prices here are ridiculous. I blame the realtors. How high do they think people can go with purchases? It’s become unrealistic.
I just bought a new home in Dabney 2 months ago. Yes it was cheaper than resale but if you don’t know you will be doing some expensive upgrades. Painting is 3k, closet organizers 3k, landscaping 3k, etc.
@@Livefreeordi I'm looking at homes in Dabney tomorrow, I love the Charlotte model, but the ones left for sale hwy 470 is right behind the wall, so I'm looking there first to check out the noise factor, then Monday looking a homes in Moultrie Creek and Shady Brook.
Great video - Thanks! I'm planning on moving there in less than two years. I've heard that the power lines are underneath the ground. If so, why are there big power towers there? Also, do you have access to fiber internet throughout the entire city? I'll be looking more up north by Lake Sumter. Thanks for you all the information you share.
It’s like most other places. One week we had a Trump golf cart parade and the next week we had a Harris parade. Just like the country divided. Just remember to vote who ever you support.
While all valid, many of the reasons given are true at any time. Unique to this market are cashing in on the large near term equity gains. Maybe insurance fears of those new to FL. FL has had a lot of bad press recently.
Frank, did you see one of the comments under this section that he made $1.7 million in three years by purchasing multiple homes, renting then selling them. He definitely got the timing perfect.
@@GaryAbbott Yes, and another fellow in 2008 did the same thing and went bankrupt…. A dangerous game for an older investor who may not have enough time to ride out a down market. I had a home in DC that was flat for 10 years! Then in the next 10 it shot up 4x. Mostly due to Fed driving interest rates to zero. Next 10 years????
I just watched RU-vidr “David is in the Villages” who does the stats from MLS. I went back to his video of May 2022 and it seemed to confirm what I thought. The homes sales per week are not necessarily changed. He had homes going pending each week between 34 to 49 over a four week period. Currently he is reporting about 40 per week which to me means the pace of sales is the same, but the number new listing is out pacing the demand. This is why homes take longer as the sales have flatten over the three years and the number of buyers each week are staying about the same. In 2020 not enough homes were available in the preowned and new homes sales benefited. The Villages quarterly sales report will be out soon. It will be interesting to compare that info.
So how many homes ARE on the market in the villages? What is your source of #'s? How does current inventory # compare to 1 yr ago? 5 yrs ago? What does the term "so many" mean? What are you comparing to? All valid real estate market questions. YOU are assuming we know these answers from the beginning? Please backup your assumption at the outset before answering a question. Is there actually so many homes for sale in the villages? We want some facts please. Not just opinions. Thank you.
Take a look at RU-vidr “David is in Florida” channel who quotes weekly on the real estate MLS numbers. You can then go back to his older videos for comparison. I watch his channel for the numbers and it doesn’t take long riding around in a golf cart to see the large amount of homes on the market compared three years ago. Thanks for watching.
One couple in The Villages strikes me as being extremely close and I worry should something happen to one of them. They are still comparatively young so it’s not likely any time soon. I worry more so about him. She’s very sweet, but very strong.
We continue to see some fabulous homes in the Villages and everyone can dream. One of the great things about the Villages homes appear to never lose their value here, so swapping or upgrading homes is common. We don’t have a good reason at this point but you never know.
I know the Villages has over 100,000 homes and I haven’t seen one in three years have a problem since 2021. You bet I will make a video if I see one. Now I’m not counting roadways where it’s a combination of drainage and infrastructure that they seem to be able to repair. I do know it has happen in the past but not enough of a concern to stop sales.
