The Villages, Florida Real Estate Market

The real estate market in The Villages, Florida is starting to show signs of movement, and there are many great properties available at good prices.  There are also numerous distressed priced properties that are ideal for investment in the current economy.  As a result of the market heavily favoring buyers, there is a significant amount of inventory available at great prices that will start to rise in coming months.  The Villages is a fantastic and exciting place to live, and it is one of the fastest growing cities in Florida and the world.  The region is a center for digital media and bio medicine industries.  The Villages is in close proximity to the 9th busiest airport in the U.S. and is warm & sunny all year round.

The Villages real estate market is experiencing declining housing inventory at a level that compares to the red hot housing market in 2005.  With the existing inventory level at approximately just under five months, the median price for existing homes has risen for the third month.  The area real estate market has seen a significant improvement in sales during 2009.  However, despite steady growth in 2010 and continuing in the first quarter of 2011, home prices and the current economic market show that there is still progress to be made.  Reputable market indicators have forecasted a 9.8% price drop for 2011, which forecast is derived as the percentage ratio between the average sold property and the actual listed property.  In other words, the average listed property in 2009 was $201,143 and the average sold property was $136,066,  showing a 36% difference.  The true issue is when these numbers will be closer together and approach equilibrium, and the answer is anyone’s guess.  However, most real estate and market experts agree that The Villages is looking at least another year before bottoming out.

Currently, there is an average of 10.5 months of unsold housing inventory in place, which is considered a significant amount as compared to the normal six months.  There are a huge amount of upper scale properties in The Villages where prices continue to come down.  In fact, some of the lower price areas have already seen a bottoming out, though the luxury properties are still far behind.  There are currently a large number of properties over $500,000 for sale in The Villages area, with the average price at $1,155,930 and the days on the market being 301 days.