Move up Buyers Shouldn't wait!

                       

SEATTLE – March 22, 2013 – Although waiting a few years to sell a home will likely mean a higher sales price, the cost of a bigger new home will increase as well, according to an analysis by Redfin. Financially, it makes more sense to capture today’s relatively low prices on the more expensive home.

Additionally, interest rates are still near record lows, but they’ll almost certainly rise over time, which means a higher monthly mortgage payment. In the next 12 months, the Mortgage Bankers Association expects rates to rise to 4.4 percent. Over a longer period, they are likely to be even higher, considering a 20-year U.S. average mortgage rate of about 6.5 percent.

The rationale for moving up now is fairly simple. A $100,000 home that appreciates 10 percent in one year would net a home seller an additional $10,000. But if that owner hopes to move into a home worth $200,000, the increased cost of the home one year from now, at the same 10 percent, would be $20,000 more.

© 2013 Florida Realtors®