Thursday’s Thoughts – Should I sell my home in this market?

Okay, so we’re in a bit of a recession and home values are down.  You still may want to consider selling your home!  Let’s consider a few things before jumping to conclusions.

Yes, you’re probably going to make less money on the sale of you home if you try selling it today vs. waiting a few years, assuming the market returns to normal.  Hypothetically, if you sell your home will you be buying a bigger, more expensive home?  If your answer is yes then consider this.  You’ll make less money on the sale of your home but you’ll save a lot more money on the bigger more expensive home that you’ll find on the market today.

Let’s say for the sake of easy math that home values are down 20%.  You would make 20% less on your $100,000 home (-$20,000) but if you bought a $150,000 house you would save 20% ($30,000).  You would come out $10,000 ahead if you are moving up in home values.

Did I mention that interest rates are historically low, hovering around the 5% mark.  The difference in monthly payment from 5% to 6.5% on a $120,000 loan is $114 mth.  That amounts to $41,143 in interest over 30 years!  You’re $51,143 better off if you bought your dream home today instead of waiting on the market to increase and interest rates to return to normal levels.

The moral of the story:  If your considering selling your home and buying a more expensive home, the answer is YES!