The Villages® · Florida

The Villages, Florida — with a local expert in your corner

More than 108 named villages, five entertainment hubs, 700+ holes of golf and a social calendar that never sleeps — The Villages is a wonderful place to land, and a complicated place to buy or sell. I'm Jennifer Hay: a Broker Associate with Axen Realty and a licensed mortgage loan originator with Nexa Lending. I help people here sort the areas, the fees and the bond — before they sign anything.

Explore the Areas What It Really Costs Schedule a Call

Meet Your Guide

One expert, both sides of the table

Most agents can show you homes. Most lenders can quote you a payment. In The Villages — where a home's amenity fee and CDD bond belong in the monthly number from day one — it helps to have one person who does both jobs.

The broker side — Axen Realty

REALTOR® since 2003, Broker Associate with Axen Realty, working the Central Florida 55+ market daily
Honest area comparisons — north vs. center vs. south, village by village, including the tradeoffs residents themselves talk about
Resale and new construction, side by side — including how each one pencils out once the bond is counted
Comparing The Villages with Ocala's 55+ communities (like On Top of the World)? I'll walk you through both, with no pressure either way

The lending side — Nexa Lending

Licensed mortgage loan originator (NMLS #2612003), Florida loans
Payment-first guidance: we price the home, the amenity fee and the bond installment together, so the monthly number you fall in love with is the real one
Pre-approval before you tour, so your offer is ready when the right village home appears

Start a Loan Application How Buying Works

Start Here

The four areas, north to south

Villagers navigate by town square and by road — north of CR 466, between 466 and 44, and south of 44. Start with the area that fits your life, then narrow to individual villages inside it.

Spanish Springs Area

North of CR 466 · 27 villages · The original Villages

Where it all began in 1994. Mature oak-shaded streets, the lowest entry prices in the community, and the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center. Villages include Silver Lake, Orange Blossom Gardens, Country Club Hills, Tierra Del Sol, Hacienda and Santo Domingo.

Explore Spanish Springs →

Lake Sumter Landing Area

CR 466 to SR 44 · 31 villages · The center of it all

The geographic heart of The Villages, built around a waterfront boardwalk square. Central to everything, with the community's strongest dining cluster. Villages include Bridgeport at Lake Sumter, Bonnybrook, Amelia, Lynnhaven, Hemingway, Mallory Square and Tamarind Grove.

Explore Lake Sumter →

Brownwood Area

South of CR 466A · 15 villages · Old Florida cattle-town square

2010s construction, modern floor plans and the liveliest evening square — the Log Cabin Stage, stadium seating and festival weekends. Villages include Collier, Fernandina, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Gilchrist, Sanibel and Osceola Hills.

Explore Brownwood →

The South — Fenney, Sawgrass & Eastport

South of SR 44 · 30+ villages and growing · The newest frontier

The newest homes in the community, nature trails and preserves, Sawgrass Grove's market-hall dining, and the brand-new Eastport town center. Villages include Fenney, DeSoto, Marsh Bend, Monarch Grove, Chitty Chatty, McClure, Richmond and St. Catherine.

Explore the South →

The Numbers Everyone Asks About

What it really costs — the short version

Two homes at the same price can carry very different monthly costs here. These are the numbers that decide it — the full breakdown, with what to verify on any specific home, is on the Costs page.

≈ $204/mo

Amenity fee per household (2026) — mandatory, whether you use the facilities or not

$0 – $35K+

CDD bond balance — many older homes are paid off; the newest southern homes carry the largest balances

FREE

Executive golf for residents on 40+ courses; championship golf (15 courses) is pay-per-round

700+ holes

Total golf across the community, on 40+ executive and 15 championship courses

See the Full Cost Breakdown →

The Lifestyle

Free music every night — and 3,000 ways to fill a week

Dates shift a little each year; always confirm the current schedule on the official calendar at thevillages.com/entertainment. But the rhythm never changes:

Every single week

Nightly, 365 days a year: free live music and dancing on every town square, roughly 5–9 pm (later on weekend nights in season)
Saturdays: Hometown Market at Brownwood Paddock Square
Market nights & growers' markets rotate through the squares during the week
Monthly: classic-car Cruise-In at Spanish Springs; art & craft shows on the squares
Daily: more than 3,000 organized activities every week — club meetings, sports leagues, classes and recreation-center programming from dawn to dark

The year's big anchors

Winter season (Jan–Apr): peak entertainment season at The Sharon and the Savannah Center; Strawberry Festival at Brownwood; St. Patrick's Day Parade
Spring: Blueberry Festival at Brownwood; outdoor concert season in full swing
Summer: July 4th celebrations on the squares; The Villages Balloon Festival at the Polo Fields (fall)
Fall: Italianfest, Oktoberfest at Brownwood, Heritage Festival; holiday craft shows
December: the Christmas Parade, tree lightings on every square, holiday concerts

Peak season runs November through April — that's also when roads, squares and restaurants are at their busiest. Visit in season if you can; it's the truest picture of daily life here.

Village Spotlights

Three villages, three very different lives

Village of Fenney

South of SR 44 · Opened 2017 · The nature village

Built around springs, marsh and oak hammocks instead of a square — nature trails, Hogeye Preserve and the quietest evenings in the community, with Sawgrass Grove as its night-out hub.

Spotlight: Fenney →

Village of Collier

Brownwood · Built 2012–2014 · Walk to the square

The village that wraps around Brownwood Paddock Square — under a mile from the Log Cabin Stage, the Saturday market and the restaurant row. Convenience you measure in footsteps.

Spotlight: Collier →

Bridgeport at Lake Sumter

Lake Sumter · Premier homes · The waterfront address

The village in Lake Sumter Landing's front yard — boardwalk sunsets, the dining row and true centrality in both directions. If The Villages has a best seat in the house, this is it.

Spotlight: Bridgeport →

The Honest Version

What residents love — and what they warn newcomers about

❤ Loved, community-wide

The golf cart life. 100+ miles of dedicated cart paths — groceries, the doctor, dinner and the square, all by cart. Many households drop to one car.
Free executive golf on 40+ courses, plus championship golf at resident rates — 700+ holes in total.
A social life on rails. Thousands of clubs and 100+ recreation centers; new residents consistently say they make friends faster here than anywhere they've lived.
Music every night. A different square, a live band, and dancing under the lights — free, 365 nights a year.
Everything is kept up. Landscaping, pools, trails and squares are maintained to a standard most communities can't match.

⚠ The tradeoffs, community-wide

The amenity fee is mandatory — about $204/month per household (2026), whether you use the facilities or not.
CDD bonds. Most homes carry a Community Development District bond; newer southern homes can owe $20,000–$35,000+, paid in annual installments on the tax bill. Always ask for the remaining balance.
Growth and season traffic. One of America's fastest-growing areas — roads and restaurants get busy November through April, and construction continues in the south.
Florida summers. Highs in the mid-90s with daily afternoon storms, June through September.
Rules are real. Deed restrictions govern everything from paint colors to parking — great for curb appeal, not for everyone.
You'll still need a car for trips beyond the bubble: airports, big-box runs and some medical care.

Resident-sentiment summaries reflect themes reported across resident forums, buyer guides and local coverage as of November 2026 — experiences vary by village and by person. Amenity fee figure per Villages Community Development Districts reporting for 2026; verify the current fee and any home's bond balance before purchase.

Work With Jennifer

Buying or selling? Start with the right page

🏡 Buying in The Villages

New construction or resale? Which area fits your life? What will the bond do to your monthly number? A local buyer's agent answers all of it — and works only for you, not the developer.

See how buying works →

🔑 Selling in The Villages

Your home competes with the developer's brand-new builds — and with every resale on your street. Here's how to price it, answer the bond question first, and market the payment buyers actually shop by.

See how selling works →