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 Rye, NY

Latitude: 40.970451 -- Longitude: -73.688435

Other Area Cities: Rye Ardsley Valhalla Tuckahoe Sleepy Hollow Scarsdale Rye Brook White Plains Mamaroneck Greenville Harrison Hartsdale Irvington Larchmont Mount Vernon Pelham Manor Port Chester Tarrytown Dobbs Ferry

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Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye (which despite its name, is larger than the city). The population was 14,955 at the 2000 census. Rye houses the home and burial place of John Jay, a Founding Father and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Original milestones, fixed in 1763 by Benjamin Franklin along the Boston Post Road during his term as Postmaster General still mark the 24th, 25th, and 26th miles from New York City. Playland, a historic amusement park and designated National Historic Landmark, is located in Rye. Playland features one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the northeast, the Dragon Coaster. The oldest house in the town, the Timothy Knapp House, is owned by the Rye Historical Society and dates in its original version to around 1667. The Historical Society also owns a former inn/tavern built in 1730, the Square House, which it operates as a museum. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

New York 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Rye	New York	United States
Population	14,955	18,976,457	281,421,906
Median age	38.1	35.9	35.3
Median age for Male	37.3	34.5	34
Median age for Female	38.7	37.2	36.5
Households	5,377	7,056,860	105,480,101
Household population	14,950	18,395,996	273,643,273
Average household size	2.78	2.61	2.59
Families	4,027	4,639,387	71,787,347
Average family size	3.26	3.22	3.14
Housing units	5,559	7,679,307	115,904,641
Occupied units	5,377	7,056,860	105,480,101
Vacant units	182	622,447	10,424,540

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