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 Grand Rapids, MI

Latitude: 42.960476 -- Longitude: -85.65828

Other Area Cities: Grand Rapids Comstock Park Cutlerville Grandville Wyoming Walker Kentwood Rockford Hudsonville Jenison

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Over 2,000 years ago, the Hopewell Indians occupied the Grand River Valley. Around 1700 A.D., the Ottawa Indians moved into the area and founded several villages along the Grand River. The Grand Rapids area was first settled by Europeans near the start of the 19th century by missionaries and fur traders, who generally lived in reasonable peace alongside the Ottawa tribespeople, trading their European metal and textile goods for the fur pelts. Joseph and Madeline La Framboise established the first Indian/European trading post in West Michigan, on the banks of the Grand River near what is now Ada. After the death of her husband in 1806, Medaline La Franboise carried on, expanding fur trading posts to the west and north. La Framboise, a mix of French and Indian descent, later merged her successful operations with the American Fur Company and retired, at age 41, to Mackinac Island. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Michigan 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Grand Rapids	Michigan	United States
Population	197,800	9,938,444	281,421,906
Median age	30.4	35.5	35.3
Median age for Male	29.4	34.3	34
Median age for Female	31.7	36.6	36.5
Households	73,217	3,785,661	105,480,101
Household population	188,106	9,688,555	273,643,273
Average household size	2.57	2.56	2.59
Families	44,370	2,575,699	71,787,347
Average family size	3.24	3.1	3.14
Housing units	77,960	4,234,279	115,904,641
Occupied units	73,217	3,785,661	105,480,101
Vacant units	4,743	448,618	10,424,540

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