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 Pittsburgh, PA

Latitude: 40.441419 -- Longitude: -79.977292

Other Area Cities: Bell Acres White Oak Bradford Woods Pittsburgh Bellevue McMurray Castle Shannon Coraopolis Franklin Park Oakmont Penn Hills Monroeville Allison Park Sewickley Heights West Mifflin North Braddock Plum Easton

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Pittsburgh (pronounced ['p?ts.b?g]) is the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Built on the land between the confluence of the Allegheny, Ohio and Monongahela rivers and the surrounding hills, Pittsburgh features a skyline of 151 skyscrapers, 446 bridges, two inclines, and a pre-revolutionary fortification. Residents of the city are called Pittsburghers. The Downtown is a compact and walkable area located on the triangular land at the rivers' confluence. Pittsburgh was fueled by the manufacturing industry until the 1980s when the United States steel industry collapsed. The city's economy is now largely based on healthcare, education, technology, and financial services. Robotics, in particular, is a major sector of the local economy; the Wall Street Journal dubbed the city "Roboburgh." -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Pennsylvania 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	United States
Population	334,563	12,281,054	281,421,906
Median age	35.5	38	35.3
Median age for Male	33.1	36.5	34
Median age for Female	37.9	39.4	36.5
Households	143,739	4,777,003	105,480,101
Household population	311,749	11,847,753	273,643,273
Average household size	2.17	2.48	2.59
Families	74,104	3,208,388	71,787,347
Average family size	2.95	3.04	3.14
Housing units	163,366	5,249,750	115,904,641
Occupied units	143,739	4,777,003	105,480,101
Vacant units	19,627	472,747	10,424,540

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