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!

As of 11/23/09 the Debby L Keul RePage is ranked at 8,171 with 35 points.
The monthly top RePage owner will receive a cash prize. Help this agent by bookmarking this site and posting it to blogs and other Web pages and encourage others to visit.

Local Information for Des Moines, IA

Latitude: 41.590939 -- Longitude: -93.620866

Other Area Cities: Ankeny Urbandale West Des Moines Des Moines Indianola

Enter our Photo Sweepstakes and Win $200 for your Des Moines photos!

To see random photos for other cities Click Here.

Submit your photos of Des Moines and become eligible to win $200. Click Here for details.

Des Moines (French for 'City of monks') is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Iowa. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, until it was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857.[1] It is also the county seat of Polk County. Des Moines is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, the Meredith Corporation, and Ruan Transportation. The city of Des Moines bills itself as the third-largest insurance center in the world, behind London, United Kingdom, and Hartford, Connecticut. [2] Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, ING Group, and John Deere have large operations in or near the metro area. Forbes Magazine ranked Des Moines as the 11th "Best Place for Business" in 2006. Des Moines was founded in May 1843 when Captain James Allen built a fort on the site where the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers merge. Allen wanted to use the name Fort Raccoon, but the American War Department told him to name it Fort Des Moines. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Iowa 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Des Moines	Iowa	United States
Population	198,682	2,926,324	281,421,906
Median age	33.8	36.6	35.3
Median age for Male	32.6	35.2	34
Median age for Female	35.1	38	36.5
Households	80,504	1,149,276	105,480,101
Household population	192,145	2,822,155	273,643,273
Average household size	2.39	2.46	2.59
Families	48,710	769,684	71,787,347
Average family size	3.04	3	3.14
Housing units	85,067	1,232,511	115,904,641
Occupied units	80,504	1,149,276	105,480,101
Vacant units	4,563	83,235	10,424,540

Visit US Census