Snowbirds flock to Margaritaville community in Daytona Beach

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Snowbirds are arriving into Central Florida and even more are on the way.

One of the hottest destinations for snowbirds is Margaritaville in Daytona Beach.

For example, upstate New York couple Richard and Missy Hough moved to Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach. Realtors said that it is a 55 and up community and 59 homes have been sold there this year. That matches number they sold from 2018 to 2020.

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Much of the residents coming to this community are from a variety of areas like the northeastern cold states but also Tennessee and Kentucky. It reportedly can take up to a year for a home to be built at Margaritaville.

"There’s not enough houses for the amount of demand that we have right now," Andrey Bustamante, the President and CEO of Bustamante Real Estate, told FOX 35. Realtors point to the national supply chain shortage for part of the housing backup. It slows down the construction of homes.

In addition, realtors said that snowbirds are coming sooner than in year’s past and are willing to rent longer until their house is ready because they want to be here.

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"They want to be down here. They are excited about it so they are willing to rent six months or 12 months until their house is ready because they want to be here," Bustamante explained.

Realtors agree that it is still a good time to buy homes while interest rates remain low. Even with the supply chain shortages, they said that the amount available homes continue to outpace the demand.

Watch FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.