When is the best time to sell your home with the intent of using the proceeds to transition to a no-maintenance senior living lifestyle? While you are truly the only person qualified to adequately address this question, many say the hot real estate market favors today’s sellers.

Can The Real Estate Surge Fund Senior Living?

Of course, a great deal more goes into the answer than the current state of the Florida real estate market, however robust.

But, if you have ever considered taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by a senior living community, the current boom in single family home sales in Florida is your friend. As demand for homes continues to outstrip supply, real estate professionals continue to be astounded by the surge.

Cash Takes the Crown

According to real estate experts, favorable interest rates are responsible in part for the current surge as well as the unprecedented volume of out-of-state inquiries that continue to pour into Florida from New York and other northern states.

While the Northeast region gave the initial momentum to the boom, a westward shift has brought in many new potential buyers from the Great Lakes and upper Midwest, and even as far as the Pacific Northwest – states which have not traditionally been known for contributing significant numbers of Florida homebuyers.

COVID-19 and Florida Real Estate

The COVID-related exodus has produced waves of cash buyers putting unprecedented pressure on potential local Florida buyers who may prefer to use financing. Out-of-state buyers in their 50s and 60s are often pre- or early-retirement couples who are searching for extra square footage after having been confined to their prior homes for virtually an entire year.

This competition for a limited supply of homes led to a predictable outcome; namely, the bidding contests that characterize Florida’s fierce seller’s market.

Florida’s Favored Status

A recent article in South Florida News noted that Redfin, the online brokerage firm, announced that more than half of the firm’s offers were challenged. While average price increases vary market-to-market, many counties in southern Florida have routinely experienced double digit increases over the past year, sometimes in excess of 45%!

Of course, not all this growth can be laid at the door of the pandemic. The reasons for Florida’s attractiveness are also grounded in a favorable tax environment, glorious weather year-round that promotes a senior-friendly active lifestyle and a wide range of personal growth opportunities for retirees. None of which are put at risk when you sell your home.

In fact, a move to a stress-free senior living community allows sellers to enjoy the Florida lifestyle even more than they did as homeowners.

Stress-Free Senior Living

The reasons are straight forward. For openers, selling with the intent to fund an independent living or assisted living community such as Sonata Senior Living avoids the conundrum of finding a new home to purchase once you’ve sold your existing home. And, unlike residential homes, senior living in Florida remains relatively unaffected by the growing bubble.

What’s more, service-enriched communities such as Sonata Senior Living offer modern, luxury amenities favored by active seniors. A full range of services includes independent and assisted living, as well as memory care should such services ever be needed. Chef-prepared meals, comprehensive health and wellness programs and life enrichment activities replace the standard maintenance cares and myriad other concerns of home ownership.

Leasing vs. Buying

Now that you’ve created all that equity in your home, it’s time to enjoy life. Did you know that when you live in a Sonata independent or assisted living community, you rent – not own your apartment? That’s right. You are no longer bogged down by the demands of home ownership. This means no home maintenance, no lawns to cut, no leaky pipes to fix. It’s all taken care of for you.

Plus, at a rental community like Sonata, there are no long-term commitments or buy-ins. The flexibility afforded by renting allows you the freedom to spend your time and money enjoying retirement in an environment filled with things to do and people to do it with.

Moving Beyond The Boom

Moving out of the home ownership model also frees you from the future mood swings of the national real estate market with its ongoing reliance on interest rates, equity market volatility and even external events like COVID-19 and its variants.

But no one can say with any certainty how long the Florida seller’s market will last. That’s why it’s best to determine your own tolerance for market risk and, even more importantly, what kind of lifestyle you want as you age.

Is Now The Best Time To Get Top Dollar For Your Home?

If you own a home in Florida and have been considering a move to a senior living community, the current real estate market is poised to make you a profit on the sale of your home, by any historical standard.

Plus, real estate experts forecast a long-term shortage of housing in Central and South Florida. The result is skyrocketing home values – a benefit that older adults can take advantage of now to put toward a senior living community for a maintenance-free life.

If you are selling your home during the Florida real estate surge, find out if independent living is right for you. We can help you find an independent or assisted living apartment that fits your personal style and budget. At Sonata, resort-style senior living means freedom from home maintenance and access to advanced safety and security features.

To learn more about Sonata Senior Living, contact us today→ or schedule a visit →