Sell after 2 years in lower Westchester or Stay? (fees, prices, property)

[ValerieRunning]

Hello!

My husband and I are torn. We bought a very small house in lower Westchester right before the pandemic surge happened (July 2020) so we could get out of Brooklyn. Our kids are two and five and we’d like to get settled in somewhere. We got this home for $635,000 and put down 60,000. Since we bought it we found out his job could be fully remote as well as mine. The house is worth 700k now (give or take). It seems like a waste to be in Westchester when we could live anywhere in the country. That being said prices are really high and we’re also not sure where to go. We’ve explored in Nashville and Asheville And would really like a place that has its own identity and isn’t a commuter town (but also has other newcomers like us!). I am asking for some financial based opinions on whether or not we should stay and renovate the kitchen for 25K or plan to move next summer to a place we could get a bigger house in a walkable neighborhood. I’m just tired of being in a neighborhood that’s very expensive with high taxes when I think we could afford 850,000 many other places. That being said we wouldn’t want to jump the gun and pay way too much for a house in a bloated market because of the pandemic.

[NORTY FLATZ]

Since your kids are getting into school age, I'd focus more on school quality, rather than "walkability." Or "identity..."

If you want to "save $$$$ in taxes" then New Yawk is not the place. Have you looked into Connecticut?

I hear Texas really strokes property owners on taxes, so be fore warned.

[Jkgourmet]

Keep in mind that realtor fees are going to use up a big chunk of that (possible) increase in value. (And yes, you should use a realtor.)

I also don't know why or how you've centered on Asheville or Nashville. They are VERY different cities.