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 Orem, UT

Latitude: 40.298753 -- Longitude: -111.696486

Other Area Cities: Orem Springville Alpine American Fork Lehi Spanish Fork Provo Salem Pleasant Grove Mapleton

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Orem is an incorporated city in the north-central part of the state of Utah in Utah County. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 84,324. By 2005 its population had been estimated to increase to 89,713, making it the fifth largest city in the state. Utah Valley State College is located in Orem. The Orem Owlz of the minor league baseball Pioneer League play their home games at the college. Orem uses the moniker "Family City USA". The city, once known as Provo Bench, was named after Walter C. Orem, who operated a railroad line in the area in the early 1900's. Orem is located in the Alpine School District and is home to three high schools, three junior high schools, and 16 elementary schools. Utah Valley State College and Stevens-Henager College are also located in Orem. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Utah 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Orem	Utah	United States
Population	84,324	2,233,169	281,421,906
Median age	23.9	27.1	35.3
Median age for Male	23.7	26.7	34
Median age for Female	24.2	27.7	36.5
Households	23,382	701,281	105,480,101
Household population	83,573	2,192,689	273,643,273
Average household size	3.57	3.13	2.59
Families	19,085	535,294	71,787,347
Average family size	3.93	3.57	3.14
Housing units	24,166	768,594	115,904,641
Occupied units	23,382	701,281	105,480,101
Vacant units	784	67,313	10,424,540

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