Embracing Downsizing

Downsizing is both a financial as well as an emotional decision.  Of course, it can be wrenching to consider a move from a home filled with family memories.  Financially, the gains from that sale could add to your nest egg and reduce monthly housing costs thus enabling more enjoyment for adventures outside the home. Memories and experiences actually are quite portable and stay with you forever.

Or downsizing may be one of those future plans, perhaps when a situation forcibly demands. Consider for a moment instead the moves you can make today will save money now and make it easier on your retirement later.  Why gamble with what the market could be in a few years when the current buying market is strong with low interest rates?  From my own personal experience, the younger you are for the move, the less stressful it will be both emotionally and physically. No matter what you have planned, chances are it’ll cost money. And if you’re already spending too much on housing expenses to afford your dreams while you’re working, you’ll have even less cash to spare when you retire.

The decision is a personal one. Crunch the numbers. Calculate the upfront costs of moving, and compare them to the yearly savings you’ll realize. A small gain probably isn’t worth the trouble, but substantial savings might make selling the best option. Talk to your local realtor to do a market comparison of what your home is worth today.  If downsizing makes sense then make that new location somewhere where you can comfortably age in place.  Consider insurance expenses, property taxes, HOA dues, layout,  a lower physical burden in maintenance, and now too …. a place you can quarantine comfortably.  Will this home allow you to stay for as long as like without having to make modifications for your later years?  So when packing up those memories of your well-loved home; do bring that bucket list of dreams too, everything you can now work on making come true with the extra time and funds created.  

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Embracing the perfect home for whom????

My advice to my buyers is always think resale.  You may be picturing this move to our coastal area of NC as your ‘forever home’ for retirement but life has a way of being unpredictable as we are all experiencing very well right now.  We have to stay flexible as well as practical.

To maximize your home investment, picture yourself as the eventual seller.  Things you need to consider, is this a growing, active area, does the neighborhood have enough variety to attract the next age group of millennial buyers?  Is your new home the most expensive and largest in the neighborhood (it should not be).  Traditionally in our local area, the larger the house the less price per square foot when sold on resale.  The trend now seems to be a smaller footprint with our future generation of buyers also. Unlike previous age groups, millennials aren’t looking for sprawling square footage; rather, they prefer smaller homes that focus on quality over quantity. They’re also tending toward eco-friendly and energy efficient properties.

 Be a smart consumer but not just for today’s purchase but for tomorrow’s sale too, you will be thankful.  Remember to consider the next generation of buyer’s impact and emerging buying trends, especially when considering a target market for selling a home.   

Embracing Timing for our Local Sellers


Too many opinions along with too excuses to delay, so I prefer to stick to
the facts. Looking at Brunswick County residential real estate market stats
for 2019, the total sales volume was up 8.4% than year before. The 
Association of Realtors for the county reports that avg sales price and the number of units sold were all higher than the year before. The county has
surpassed $1 billion in total sales for the third straight year. Looking at our 
local market the average days on market in 2019 was 85 days and houses 
are selling for approximately 96% of their listed value.

The first month figures for the first month of 2020 have been released, 
Brunswick County saw a sharp increase in homes sold, and total sales
volume. The market had a 60.1% spike in total sales volume over last 
January. The number of units sold jumped 42.3%, and average sale prices 
increased 12.5% from $257,555 to $289,675. The absorption rate, which is 
the amount of time it would take to sell the current inventory of homes, 
is holding steady at less than five months.

For our local city of Southport market, those numbers are even better for 
Sellers and our current inventory is LOW, LOW, LOW. New home buyers 
have been arriving in a steady stream to our beautiful coastal area, 
especially with these low rates, looking for that perfect home to
relocate to.

So when is the best time to list your home? NOW!