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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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No tears for me. Our first house in 1978 cost $50,000 and we sold it 7 years later for $105,000, using the net as a down payment on a house for $132,000. We sold that one 8 years later for $190,000, moved to another state and bought here for the same amount, $190,000. Our first house is now worth $600k, the second $700k, but the one we are still in is valued at $859k 23 years later. Had we stayed in the first all these years we would have made $550k in equity by now, but would have struggled to raise a family of 5 in a little 2BR 1BA house. As it turned out we raised the family in a much newer 3,000 sf house and yet have more ($669k) in equity.
People have their own tastes and needs. When we do upgrades and decor it is to suit our needs and would expect buyers of any homes we have sold over the years to do the same.
I wouldn’t sweat any of those “losses”. $150k in 1990 or $630k today, minus all the upkeep, property tax etc etc? $150k invested in just a DOW index fund in 1990 would be worth over $1.8M. Blows the home appreciation out of the water. Lament not investing, not not hanging on to a house.
Shocked at how much #1 is. Love #2 What a dream house.
Thanks, Tom. It was our dream house. It is almost unrecognizable to me, as everything except it's color and basic design, has changed. Be interesting to know how much all those improvements cost.
Yes, I know it's better to look ahead, not back. This is a failing of mine that I'm well aware of!
And yes, should have invested the $$ in stocks, as suggested. But you keep hearing that real estate is such a great investment!
I fail at math but is it really true that $140,000 invested in 1990 would have increased to 1.8 million? That's hard to grasp....
I wouldn’t sweat any of those “losses”. $150k in 1990 or $630k today, minus all the upkeep, property tax etc etc? $150k invested in just a DOW index fund in 1990 would be worth over $1.8M. Blows the home appreciation out of the water. Lament not investing, not not hanging on to a house.
Depends where the house is. One that we owned on the outskirts of Sydney cost us about $80k in 1989. Would now be worth over $800k without any improvements. While we owned it the rent paid most of the mortgage. Real estate in Sydney has doubled in the past ten years. We sold that house a few years ago, thinking the market had peaked, but it is only now it is starting to level.
All investment has some risks. We do not look back and worry about bad decisions. There is no point.
My parents sold 14 acres in McLean, VA (just outside Washington, DC) a upscale community for $40,000 back in 1961.
I know that a was a very long time ago. One acre of raw land, if you can find it in McLean 2017 now going for +- 1.5 million. It is all relative to time, but really makes you think about that potential current value.
... $150k invested in just a DOW index fund in 1990 would be worth over $1.8M. Blows the home appreciation out of the water. Lament not investing, not not hanging on to a house.
True enough, but the counter-argument is that one would have needed to have had a place to reside anyway, and it would be nice to be financially compensated for the trouble of living there, so to speak.
Speaking of lament, houses in my area, that sold for $140K in 1990, are today selling for - wait for it! - maybe $200K. They rose in price with modest aplomb throughout the 1990s, but have been flat (or declining) throughout the 21st century.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nor'Eastah
You're discounting inflation. How much would $140K have purchased back in 1990, compared with what it purchases today? My recollection is that $140K back in 1990 was an awful lot of money.
Not really. $140K in 1990 would be worth around $300K today. Inflation over the preceding 27 years has been rather muted. Now if we consider the 27 years prior to 1990 - well, that's an entirely different story! $140K in 1963 was indeed considerable money.
Coulda had a cool million between these two gems. SIGH.
There is an old Yiddish saying that translates roughly to: If my grandmother had balls, she would have been my grandfather.
Ifs and couldas don't count in real life!
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