Property values continue to rise and those looking to downsize can make the most of the current market highs, but how much you can save by downsizing can vary significantly depending on where you live. A new StorageCafe study found homeowners in the 20 largest U.S. metros could save $194,000 when downsizing from a four-bedroom to a two-bedroom home. In some markets that savings is even higher.
StorageCafe’s methodology looked at the difference between the value of a four-bedroom home versus a two-bedroom home in each metro. The study took into account property taxes over 10 years, as well as closing costs for selling and buying both properties. California led the list with San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles taking the first three spots on the list for large downsizing savings at $406,000, $264,700 and $239,800, respectively.
What type of savings are downsizers seeing in the Seattle area? Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ranked fourth on the list for savings. Homeowners looking to downsize from the Seattle area could save $234,500, according to the report. Downsizing from a four-bedroom Bellevue home to a smaller home in Seattle could reap $600,000 in savings. Downsizing from Seattle to Tacoma could generate almost $675,000 in savings. Going from Seattle to Bellevue could result in more than $400,000 in savings and those who choose to stay in Seattle and move to a smaller home in the city can save about $290,000.
Absolute rubbish. People who purchased their home let’s say 20 years ago..can expect to pay 3-4 times as much for a smaller home, depending on location.