So last year you waited to buy a home because there was not enough inventory (homes for sale) and the right home just did not come along. So, no decision was made and by default you ended up waiting for the perfect home that never came. Well not to make you feel bad or anything but I wanted to show you some numbers that went along with not purchasing a home last year and waiting until this year.
Last year in El Dorado County, according to MLS data, homes were selling for an average of $203 a square foot of living space if we are looking at April of 2016. Now not all homes are average but this is what I am using for this illustration. So a typical home of modest size, say 2000 square feet of living space would have cost you $406,000 ($203 x 2000). No let’s look at how waiting one year has turned into a lot of money for the same home. The average price per square foot in April of 2017, again based on MLS data, is $224. That same modest 2000 square foot home will now cost you $448,000. Wow, that’s a big difference, $42,000 to be exact or is it???
That’s not the only thing we should be looking at here. We also need to be looking at the cost of you mortgage because unless you have $448,000 in cash laying around to spend on a home you will need a mortgage. If you have that much cash on hand and don’t already own a home, you need a financial advisor immediately. Anyway, let’s look at interest rates from a year ago. In April of 2016 a 30 year fixed rate mortgage rate was roughly (I am not a lender so I am not quoting rates here just roughly what they were) 3.75%. Today you can get a 30 year rate at roughly 4.125%. Not a big deal you say, well let me tell you that it is a big deal. Here is how those numbers translate into money FROM your pocket.
A home in April of 2016 at the cost of $406,000 with 20 % down ($81,200)and an interest rate of 3.750%, the principal and interest payment would have been $1504 per month. That same home today, April of 2017 would now cost $448,000 with 20% down ($89,600, a bit of a jump there) and an interest rate of now 4.125%,, the principal and interest payment would be $1736 per month. That means waiting one year on the same home would not only be $42,000 more expensive but the monthly payment would go up by $232 a month ($1736 - $1504 = $232). Over the period of one year that adds up to $2784 extra (think nice vacation here) and over the period five years that adds up to $13,920. Do I need to keep going here? How about in ten years, $27840, okay that a great start on a college education. You get the idea.
Check the numbers yourself on the mortgage amounts and interest rates with the links above.
If you have any questions, call me and I will help you. If you know of someone looking to Buy or Sell Real Estate in El Dorado County call me, text me at 530-306-3494 or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
