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 Honolulu, HI

Latitude: 21.30895 -- Longitude: -157.826182

Other Area Cities: Honolulu Makakilo City Aiea Halawa Heights Kailua Waipahu Kaneohe Pearl City Mililani

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Honolulu is the capital and largest city of the U.S. State of Hawai?i. In the Hawaiian language, honolulu means "sheltered bay" or "place of shelter." The census-designated place (CDP) is located along the southeast coast of the island of O?ahu. The term also refers to the District of Honolulu (see Geography below). As of July 1, 2004, the United States Census Bureau estimate for Honolulu puts the population at 377,260 and that of the city and county (essentially, the Island of O?ahu) at 900,000. In Hawai?i, local governments operate only at the county level, and the City & County of Honolulu encompasses all of the Island of O?ahu (approximately 600 square miles). -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Hawaii 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Honolulu	Hawaii	United States
Population	371,657	1,211,537	281,421,906
Median age	39.7	36.2	35.3
Median age for Male	38.4	35.1	34
Median age for Female	41.1	37.4	36.5
Households	140,337	403,240	105,480,101
Household population	360,371	1,175,755	273,643,273
Average household size	2.57	2.92	2.59
Families	87,374	287,068	71,787,347
Average family size	3.23	3.42	3.14
Housing units	158,663	460,542	115,904,641
Occupied units	140,337	403,240	105,480,101
Vacant units	18,326	57,302	10,424,540

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