Yesterday at my last board meeting I threw out some stats that most people at first blush would say are pure BS. Rather than my usual long rants let me just lay them down for you to ponder. *In 2014 through the end of November more than 2100 homes will have been sold in Sun City. By years end we will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 2400 to 2500 home sales which gives us a daily average of between 6 and 7 home sold each and every day of the year (which has been the going rate for years now). * Given those figures and with a population of 43,000 and just over 27,000 rooftops, we experience more than a 75% shift in our resident base every 10 years. Staggering to say the least. * Hundreds of thousands of residents have gone into the making of Sun City. For 54 years, those living here have helped shape the community. While that seems impossible, when you consider the numbers of clubs (currently 130 plus), the numbers of organizations (dozens), churches (31) and all of the committees and boards for them and the RCSC, it's easy to see how those numbers grow so quickly. It's exactly why looking at the future is so critical. Too many things impact us, whether we like it or not. Ignoring those societal changes won't make them go away. Understanding and preparing for them, will make us more able to manage and prepare for our future.
Interesting comment E and exactly why we need to start doing a better job of accumulating data. We know two thirds of the homes are single family, the other third are attached. That begs the question if condo's tend to sell more often? Of course culling information goes way beyond that.
I'm interested to know the reason people think a condo is downsizing. The size of the condos are often the same as a SF home (although there are a few very small ones). Owners still need to do the upkeep to the interior and some of the exterior, depending on the HOA of the condo. I couldn't see very much of a difference when I weighed everything.
My condo is the same square footage as my last home in the state of Washington. But it is 2 bedrooms versus 4 bedrooms. Very large rooms. The architect of SC homes took into consideration that the owner(s) might need to use a wheel chair. My last home was not as accommodating. The condos in my association were recently painted. Cost was included in month dues. It is done every 10 years. Places all look very nice.
It is interesting C because the condo's run from just under 900 sq ft to as much as 2200. I suspect the average size is between 1200 to 1300 square. We went to the Rockin Thru the Year's New Year's eve party and sat with some folks who bought in Sun City a year back. They had "downsized" from a big home in Peoria and the logic behind it was to be able to travel because by owning a condo they could just lock up and go. It makes sense from many standpoints. A good number of my Canadian friends own condo's and as most of you know they can only be here for 6 months at the most. To be able to come and go with no outside worries is a huge bonus. The downside is most condo associations have no rental clauses in their CC&R's so should they not be able to come down, renting isn't an option. The other problem with condo's and twin home's is the increasing monthly fees. The lowest are in the $140's with the highest hitting above $200 per month. Clearly there are costs that are similar in single family dwellings but nowhere near what condo's pay. And then there is the whole question of how they are being run. Don't get me wrong, some are brilliantly managed but others can't find officers and consequently are paying companies like Colby management running them. The beauty of Sun City is there are so many great options of living styles.
