[diamondeye]

I don't get it. I search and find these lovely homes for 80,000 to 100,000 and they're just fine, but they're all 55+ communities. Can't filter them out on most sites, but once I manually check the listings, it's at least $175,000 before I can get a comparable "non-senior" home listing. Why the price difference?

[Racelady88]

The 55+ listings that I have come across have all been mobile homes.

[HowdyYall]

there has to be some hidden catch. No developer is going to focus on the 55+ market to lose a possible 100,000 profit. I was in a 55+ community the other day and it looked very expensive on the outside with gates and a security gaurd, but once inside, they were mobile/modular homes that looked tacky.
Not a real house per se.

[Prichard]

Most are nothing more than double-wide trailors.

[diamondeye]

True for the most part, but I have seen some concrete block system homes, and they're still in the 80-100K range.

[stacylee926]

Just as with senior apts - I think the builders are getting money from the govt to build lower cost homes for seniors. The builder still gets their money.

[jhlcomp]

Not all 55+ communitieis are double wides. There are condo and single family homes, albeit small, that are in communities of cbs construction - of course, it depends on where you are looking.

55+ developments tend to be cheaper because of their age restrictions and the fact that they only appeal to a certain segment of the market.

[ddlove01]

That's because most seniors are on a fixed income. There are a mix of CBS and mobile homes. You are still looking in Ft Pierce and PSL right? There are some new townhomes in Fort Pierce and even some in Jensen Beach that are around 120-130K. If you are still looking for homes on the treasure coast, check out tcpalm.com, search Classifieds, Real Estate. There are a lot of deals that private owners put out there for the public.

We are selling our home and there's a lot of hefty competition out there. The other day I saw a brand new home built this year offered for 155K. You can't beat that price by any means in this area. That's a 3/2/2 too! I don't know if that is in your price range, but it's a steal in my opinion.

[KELLI2L]

Originally Posted by diamondeye

I don't get it. I search and find these lovely homes for 80,000 to 100,000 and they're just fine, but they're all 55+ communities. Can't filter them out on most sites, but once I manually check the listings, it's at least $175,000 before I can get a comparable "non-senior" home listing. Why the price difference?

Florida has been friendly to seniors for many years - knowing that they are living on a fixed income which in many cases is lower than working folks, Florida gives them a break. Why Florida U may ask? Why not! Seniors always get cold - so Florida is a perfect place for them. That's also probably why there are so many golf courses, since the seniors have so much time on their hands - they spend that time playing golf. Vacationers enjoy these pluses too. Senior and others who declare Florida their main home also get what's called a Homestead Exemption, which for many years makes the first $25 thousand of their homes worth - tax free; soon it could be going up to $50 and even $75 thousand. We were thinking of moving to Tennessee but changed our minds after a few visits. It's pretty there but it was boring and we decided we liked looking at trees and WATER rather than just trees. Plus there is so much to do here!

[Jammie]

Diamond, you're right. The senior condos are much cheaper then the "all ages" ones are. I've noticed that on the Gulf coast, too. As was said before, they probably just want to give seniors a break. Also, they're generally quite a bit smaller then what families would be looking for.