Broadsheet: You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. - Cyril Connolly

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

I bought my house 7 years ago in the middle of the serious slide in interest rates. Since then, my home has more than tripled in value, and I refinanced my 30 yr. fixed mortgage to a 15 year fixed at 4.25%, and still pay $100 less per month (adjusting for the increase in property taxes!), and I'll own the place in 11 years.

Ahhh...the good 'ol days. On Sunday night, 60 Minutes did a piece called Living Large on the ever increasing size of American homes. It described the how the average size of new homes built in the US have grown by 50% over the last 30 years, while the average household size has shrunk to only 3.6 people.

American's largest home builder, the Toll Brothers, were featured prominently in the piece, and yet, today, less than 4 days later, they are saying that the oversupply of new homes is causing a slump in the market.

I'll say. From the time I bought my home in Bolton Hill, until just very recently, the number of listings in Homes Database.com for houses worth more > $300K, have gone from a handful, to more than 50. We have three homes on the market on my street, and they never lasted more than a week or so until this past spring. For now, they are sitting.

The times, they are a changin.....

Fortunately for me, like a mild downturn in the stock market, I am in a very comfortable, stable, long term position with no intention of selling anytime soon.

Slow and steady wins the race.

posted by Broadsheet @ 11:38 PM