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 Slidell, LA

Latitude: 30.27904 -- Longitude: -89.777744

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In 1882, the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad began construction on a new railroad connecting New Orleans to Cincinnati, Ohio through Meridian, Mississippi. One of the building camps on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain continued to expand well after the completion of the railroad, and was eventually chartered as a city by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1888. Though he supposedly never set foot in the town, Slidell takes its name from John Slidell, Confederate revolutionary, major figure in the Trent Affair, and father-in-law to Baron Erlanger, head of the banking syndicate which financed the railroad. Colonel Leon Fremaux drew up the original plans for the city, naming the largest street for Erlanger and a smaller for himself. Ironically, Fremaux Avenue is now a major artery, far overshadowing Erlanger Avenue. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Louisiana 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Slidell	Louisiana	United States
Population	25,695	4,468,976	281,421,906
Median age	37	34	35.3
Median age for Male	35.3	32.6	34
Median age for Female	38.6	35.3	36.5
Households	9,480	1,656,053	105,480,101
Household population	25,348	4,333,011	273,643,273
Average household size	2.67	2.62	2.59
Families	7,155	1,156,438	71,787,347
Average family size	3.09	3.16	3.14
Housing units	10,133	1,847,181	115,904,641
Occupied units	9,480	1,656,053	105,480,101
Vacant units	653	191,128	10,424,540

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