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 Evansville, IN

Latitude: 37.977166 -- Longitude: -87.550566

Other Area Cities: Evansville Newburgh

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Evansville is a city located in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 121,582, and a metropolitan population of 342,815. It is the third-largest city in the state of Indiana. The city is the county seat of Vanderburgh County. In 2004 Evansville was named an "All-America City" by the National Civic League. [1] GR6 The city is situated on a gentle horseshoe bend on the Ohio River and often referred to as "River City." It was commonly referred to as "Stop Light City" before the city's Interstate 164 bypass was constructed. It serves as a regional hub for the Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois tri-state area. Evansville has a humid continental climate (just north of the humid subtropical line) and four distinct seasons. Average temperatures range from 32 degrees Fahrenheit to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Annual rainfall averages 42 inches and annual snowfall averages 13 inches. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Indiana 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Evansville	Indiana	United States
Population	121,582	6,080,485	281,421,906
Median age	36.5	35.2	35.3
Median age for Male	34.7	33.9	34
Median age for Female	38.2	36.5	36.5
Households	52,273	2,336,306	105,480,101
Household population	116,862	5,902,331	273,643,273
Average household size	2.24	2.53	2.59
Families	30,512	1,602,501	71,787,347
Average family size	2.9	3.05	3.14
Housing units	57,065	2,532,319	115,904,641
Occupied units	52,273	2,336,306	105,480,101
Vacant units	4,792	196,013	10,424,540

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