If your house has more space than you need, 2022 is the perfect time to downsize.

You know you’re ready to downsize when:

You have rooms you rarely (or never) use.
You’re tired of the cleaning and maintenance a large house requires.
Retiring in the home is unappealing because of an inconvenient layout or the distance from family.
You’re getting worried about the environmental impact of heating, cooling, and lighting such a large space.
You’re feeling trapped by your large mortgage payment or the many belongings that are tying you to one location.
All of the above!

If you’re experiencing any of these signs that it’s time to downsize, consider doing it this year. Here are three reasons to downsize in 2022.

1. You’re Probably Swimming in Equity

How much has your home grown in value since the beginning of the pandemic? (If you’re not sure, contact the experts at Sequoia Real Estate for a free, no-obligation home valuation.)

While your value has been increasing your mortgage debt has also been decreasing as you’ve made your mortgage payments over the last two years. This means your home equity has been growing on both fronts, increased value and reduced debt. And with so much equity, you stand to earn a nice profit on the sale of your home.

You can use this equity to buy a smaller place, potentially paying cash and living mortgage-free!

2. We’ve Likely Seen the Biggest Gains from this Boom

You know the market has gone crazy since the beginning of the pandemic. San Francisco, for example, saw median sales price increases of 10.2% from December 2020 to December 2021. Alameda saw an increase of 19.8% over that same period!

Nationwide, median sales prices were up 15.2% year-over-year by December 2021. This growth is entirely unsustainable and has priced many first-time buyers out of the market. With these buyers forced to exit the market, there is a limit to how much higher the remaining buyers are willing to go. And prices, while still increasing, will be increasing at a slower pace in 2022 and beyond than they did in 2021.

Why not cash out now since you’ve already realized the biggest gains? Then you can invest your cash into a smaller home, which still stands to enjoy additional gains over your ownership period.

3. Demand is Still Sky-High

Yes, some buyers have decided not to continue their search since values have increased by so much. But we’re in a golden period where there is still high demand from the many remaining buyers in the market. Homes in Alameda and Oakland are still selling in under three weeks. So a quick sale is highly likely.

Furthermore, buyers are still paying well over the asking price because they are anxious to get their offers accepted. In San Francisco, homes sold for 7.6% above asking, even in December, which is typically a slower month where buyers have a bit more leverage.

Yes, this means it will be harder for you to find your next home. But we can help with that as well. Sequoia agents have deep networks of investors, sellers, and industry insiders who can alert us to new listings before they even hit the market. We can help you find your new home while we optimize the sale of your current one.

Whether you’re planning to downsize in 2022 or simply considering whether or not it would be a wise move for you, our team of experienced real estate professionals is happy to discuss your options with you. We can provide you with a free custom analysis of your home’s current value and a calculation of how much you can make on the sale of your home. We can even create a custom marketing plan to help your home sell quickly for top dollar. And create a plan to find your new home.

But no pressure. If you find that this isn’t the right time for you to downsize, we’re not going to try to push you to sell. We’ll simply keep you informed of market conditions as they change so that you will know when the time is right for you.