A large percentage of people living in Florida are retirees and this number is growing. The coast from Ft. Walton Beach in the Panhandle to Key West has grown beyond the ability of the natural eco-system to supply water. The environment is suffering as the wetlands are being impacted by development. Water, which is the main determiner of habitability, is in short supply and many of the cities on the west coast of Florida are already using expensive desalinated sea water for drinking water. The demand for public services has put a tremendous burden on the state and local governments. Many communities are charging huge impact fees for any new construction to offset the burden on their overworked infrastructure. The unparalleled run up in home prices over the past several years has taken the average-priced home upwards of $300,000. Most newly-constructed homes are at the luxury end of the market.

Florida has prospered due to this building boom, providing us with wonderful entertainment and even better vacations, of this there is no doubt. But there is a downside for those living in Florida. The waning effects of El Nino have precipitated a long term change in weather which has created the perfect environment for hurricane formation. We have already seen two consecutive seasons of devastating hurricanes. The State of Florida, already burdened with the task of making room for an amazing influx of retirees and the corresponding influx of workers to fill their service needs, has been hit with hurricane after hurricane. This is causing significant cost run-ups in labor and materials, impacting the cost of new construction and the repair of existing hurricane-damaged homes. This has driven the cost of home owners and flood insurance through the roof. The cost of living in Florida has consequently increased considerably over the past few years. Housing prices have increased over 20% per year over the past two years, further driving people out of the Florida market, particularly those who have come from a lower cost market.

The goal of retirement is to have your income cover your needs and lifestyle requirements for the balance of your retirement years. Those who retired to Florida 15 years ago had the benefit of leaving, in many cases, more expensive real estate markets in the north, where they made a lot of money on the sale of their homes. They were able to move to Florida, buy a home, and have a substantial amount of money left over to fund their retirement account. This is becoming the exception rather than the rule for people currently retiring to Florida. For many people today, the move to Florida is a move to a more expensive market, causing them to further deplete their retirement savings to pay for a more expensive home. Given the weather conditions and available supplies of construction labor and materials, this is only going to get worse over the coming years.

This would explain why 70% of the buyers in Houston Springs are relocating, retiring for the second time, to Houston Springs in Perry, Georgia. These buyers have been able to sell their homes in Florida, buy much less expensive homes in Perry, and put significant amounts of money into their retirement accounts, all the while improving their quality of life. Other buyers are retiring from the northern part of the country directly to Perry, because they can live in an area below the snow-belt, yet with four distinct seasons, in the lowest-cost housing market in the Southeastern United States.

The State of Georgia is 110% the size of Florida and has less than half the population. In the past, Middle Georgia was considered too far inland, too far removed from the beaches of the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts to attract those seeking the sun filled life on the beach. In an interesting turn of events, those are the exact qualities that make Middle Georgia so attractive! Within 5 hours of Perry, you can be in the mountains of North Carolina, Nashville, Orlando, Savannah, Charleston, St. Simons Island off the coast of Georgia, Hilton Head, Destin, Tampa, Atlanta, etc. The ability to live where major vacation destinations are within a comfortable half-day drive make Houston Springs in Perry, Georgia, worthy of consideration.

Houston Springs is looking for prospective residents who want to enjoy their retirement years with friends, living a lifestyle that can only be described as “fun filled”. We have a limited number of homes in Houston Springs, and we would like to extend an invitation to you to become one of our satisfied homeowners. For more information, contact sales toll free at 877-988-8850.