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 Coon Rapids, MN

Latitude: 45.171032 -- Longitude: -93.307785

Other Area Cities: Edina Maplewood Anoka Coon Rapids Richfield Fridley Robbinsdale Saint Anthony East Bethel Brooklyn Center Andover Arden Hills Blaine Brooklyn Park New Brighton New Hope Saint Louis Park Spring Lake Park Golden Valley Minneapolis Ramsey

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The name "Coon Rapids" was from "Coon Creek Rapids" a turbulent part of the Mississippi River nearby the mouth of Coon Creek. These rapids were removed as a consequence of the construction of the Coon Rapids Dam in 1913. The Dam operated until 1966 when it was closed and later opened to the public as the Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park in 1978. Originally founded as a part of Anoka Township in 1857, Coon Rapids became a separate village in 1952. In 1959, it became a city. It retains its original boundaries, except for the part that became the City of Anoka. The city has a council-manager form of government, and its current mayor is Tim Howe. While mayoral elections in Coon Rapids are nonpartisan, Howe has been endorsed by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Since 1967, Coon Rapids has been the home of the main campus of Anoka-Ramsey Community College. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Minnesota 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Coon Rapids	Minnesota	United States
Population	61,607	4,919,479	281,421,906
Median age	33.3	35.4	35.3
Median age for Male	32.3	34.4	34
Median age for Female	34.1	36.3	36.5
Households	22,578	1,895,127	105,480,101
Household population	61,245	4,783,596	273,643,273
Average household size	2.71	2.52	2.59
Families	16,574	1,255,141	71,787,347
Average family size	3.15	3.09	3.14
Housing units	22,828	2,065,946	115,904,641
Occupied units	22,578	1,895,127	105,480,101
Vacant units	250	170,819	10,424,540

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