I am asked often if “NOW” is a good time to sell my home. There are many ways to look at it, but lets take the two most common – Sellers who are wanting to buy a bigger home “Moving Up” and Sellers who are wanting to purchase a smaller home “Moving Down”.
Lets start with the those that are “Moving Up”. I believe that this is a great time for these sellers. Yes, you are not going to get what you could have a few years ago, but you can make it up on the purchase of the more expensive home. Lets just say that the market has dropped 20% on all real estate. If your home was worth $150,000 a few years ago, now it would have a value of $120,000. That is a reduction of $30,000. Now, lets say that you are planning to purchase a home that is valued at current market value of $200,000. That same home would have been worth $240,000 a few years ago. That is a $40,000 drop in value. You might get less for you home now, but you could be gaining an extra $10,000 over the decrease in value of your home.
For those that are “Moving Down” the numbers are a little different. If your home's value is currently $120,000, it is possible that you would be able to purchase a newer smaller home for the same amount. That same new home a few years ago would have been equal to the same $150,000 of your home's previous value. With this type of move, it just depends on what you are wanting to purchase. If you want to transfer your current home's value to a newer smaller home, then yes this is a good time to sell your home.
If you are looking to buy a home for less than what you are selling your current home for, then the same applies, but only the reverse, as those that are “Moving Up”. In this case, it would benefit you to wait until the market corrects and the value of your home increases.
What it boils down to is, the market has had an affect on all real estate. I would advise you to speak to a real estate agent in your area and/or the area that you are planning to move to find out what is best for you.
Labels: Real Estate
