New Study Reveals that Downsizing your Metro-Atlanta Home Could Save You Upwards of $100K
Once the kids have left the nest, you may be wondering what to do with all of the extra space in your home. Chances are you don’t need all your bedrooms anymore. If so, it may be a great time to sell your house and downsize. You’ve likely gained a lot of equity if you’ve lived in your home for a while. Making a move while the demand for your current house is high could be your best step forward toward the retirement goals you set out to achieve several years ago.
A recent study by StorageCafe revealed that downsizing from a 4-bedroom to a 2-bedroom home in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metro area offers over $110K in savings for homeowners. In some markets that savings are even higher. The majority of the country is currently experiencing a sellers’ market. Let’s look at a few reasons why this might make sense for you.
Advantages of Selling Your Metro-Atlanta Home and Downsizing:
- Less is more. A smaller home means less upkeep, which ultimately means less spending. You’ll not only have less maintenance but can you imagine how much money you’ll save on your heating and cooling bills?
A smaller home also allows for better accessibility. We see lots of buyers in the Dunwoody and Sandy Springs areas looking for homes with owner’s suites on the main level. It’s a popular adjustment to have as couples head into their retirement years.
“When we bought the house, what surprised up the most was not the cost of the mortgage… It’s everything else that came along with the house. The maintenance, lawn care, repairs, and all the other unexpected stuff,” said Denaye Barahone, founder of Simple Families blog. She explained that when her family moved to a smaller home, they booked a vacation when they would normally be paying for landscaping on their previous, bigger home. “We [traded] stuff, home, and responsibilities for experiences and fun.”
- Let’s assume you have $500 a month on your mortgage payment. In 30 years, you could have an additional $1-1.6 million in the bank to get you through the golden years.
3. Dave Ramsey, the financial guru, suggests using the proceeds from selling your current home to pay cash for a smaller one. Just imagine what you could do with no mortgage holding you down! If you can’t pay cash, aim for a 15-year fixed mortgage rate and put at least 10-20% down on your new home. Apply the $500 you saved from downsizing to your new monthly payment. At 3% interest, you could pay off a $200,000 mortgage in less than 10.5 years, saving almost $16,000 in the process.
Bottom Line
We understand that downsizing from a home where you raised your kids, made friends, and gone to church can be a hard transition to even phantom. However, if your home is becoming too much to maintain, it could be a great time to sell and take advantage of the current market.
It may have been decades since your last real estate transaction and you’re apprehensive about the process. There’s a whole team at Karen Cannon, Realtors that will walk you through the process of selling your home and finding the right fit for you.
You can explore Sand Springs real estate current listings by clicking here.