Why Would You Want To Sell When The Sky Is Falling?

November 20, 2008

Are you crazy? Are you so flush with money that you don’t mind giving away $20,000 or $30,000 of your equity? I almost said “hard-earned” equity – but for most of us who’ve bought in the last 10 years, we didn’t have to do much other than sit back and watch our home appreciate. But however we’ve earned the equity, it doesn’t seem on the surface to be a good idea to sell right now.

But what if I told you that by giving away $20,000 I’ll give you back $30,000? You’ve now netted $10,000. Sounds a bit better now, doesn’t it? You’re continuing to earn equity the “easy” way – even in this different market.

Let’s say that you own a house that a few years ago was valued at $200,000 – up 30% from when you bought in 1999. Unfortunately prices have dropped in your area so now your home is only worth $180,000 – down $20,000 from 3 years ago. Ouch! It’s no good wishing you’d sold then – that window of opportunity has already passed. But if you have a stable job in an industry that appears to be weathering the economic downturn fairly well, then you might want to consider taking advantage of lower prices on larger homes. If you’ve had to drop your price 10%, then larger, more expensive homes will have to drop their price also. A home that would have cost $300,000 two years ago may now be listed for $270,000.

Then add in the monthly savings of an incredibly low interest rate (I just spoke to a Mortgage rep and he told me as of December 30, 30 year mortgage rates are holding at between the high 4% and mid 5% range. Fifteen year rates are slightly lower at 4.75%.) So what does this mean to your bottom line? For many, the cost is only a couple of hundred dollars more a month for a much bigger comfortable home. Only you can do your calculate what the cost of moving into a more spacious home would be. If I were looking to move up, and my long-term employment seemed secure, I’d definitely be looking now!

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Local Information for Torrington, CT

Latitude: 41.817487 -- Longitude: -73.118706

Other Area Cities: New Hartford Torrington Canton Center Harwinton Winsted

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Torrington is the largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the northwestern Connecticut region. It is also the core city of the largest micropolitan area in the United States.[1] As of the 2000 census, the city population was 35,202, but a July 1, 2004 estimate put the city's population at 36,248. Torrington is a former mill town, as are most other towns along the Naugatuck River Valley. It is currently competing with the neighboring city of Winsted to recreate a pleasant Main Street environment. Downtown Torrington is home to the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, which trains world-class ballet dancers and whose Company performs in the Warner Theatre, a 1,700 seat auditorium restored in 2002 to its original 1931 glory. The theater, while originally built as a cinema by the Warner Brothers film studio, has been reborn as a performing arts venue and arts instruction organization, and will serve as a cornerstone of the city's downtown revitalization project. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Connecticut 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Torrington	Connecticut	United States
Population	35,202	3,405,565	281,421,906
Median age	39.1	37.4	35.3
Median age for Male	37.5	36.1	34
Median age for Female	40.7	38.6	36.5
Households	14,743	1,301,670	105,480,101
Household population	34,368	3,297,626	273,643,273
Average household size	2.33	2.53	2.59
Families	9,130	881,170	71,787,347
Average family size	2.96	3.08	3.14
Housing units	16,147	1,385,975	115,904,641
Occupied units	14,743	1,301,670	105,480,101
Vacant units	1,404	84,305	10,424,540

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