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Every year NAR surveys tens of thousands of buyers and sellers at the closing table. A few of those findings are worth using in this email, because they describe people like you, not the folks in the national headlines. As you know, Boulder and most of the front range is its own animal.
But nationally, the latest reports show a market run by people in their 50s and 60s who have owned for a decade or more and are finally moving for lifestyle, not pure finance. Only about 1 in 5 buyers is a true first timer, and even they are about 40 years old now.
Ten years ago, people typically sold after about 6 years in a home. Now the median is 11. That extra time, plus a decade of appreciation, is why so many Boulder owners are sitting on a real equity cushion that actually gives them choices.
From here, this email is really for two groups.
1) “We are not moving. We are fine.”
When people tell me, “We are not moving, we are fine,” what I hear is, “The house mostly works, and we have learned to live around the parts that do not.”
I would invite you to pressure test that a little.
Is your current setup a good fit for how you live now, for how you want to live ten years from now, or is it a decent fit for the life you had ten to fifteen years ago?
For a lot of Boulder owners, the friction shows up in boring everyday ways:
The house is too big to clean, heat, insure, and maintain, but you just keep doing it because you think past is prologue and you gained a few hundred thousand in equity over the last five years so you should just keep doing that.
Or it is too small, so work, guests, kids, and gear are all on top of each other.
Stairs that never used to matter now quietly shape your day.
The noise, street, parking, or HOA rules no longer match who you are.
You are farther from friends, family, airport, or trails than how you actually spend your time.
Because so many people have been in their homes eight to fifteen years, that extra time plus appreciation has turned into serious equity.
In plain English, that equity can let you:
-Swap stairs for a main floor bedroom and bath.
-Trade yard and shovel for true lock and leave.
-Move to a quieter, better fit street twenty to thirty minutes away.
-And in a lot of cases, ring the register, buy lifestylye, and still put some jing in the bank at the same time.
You do not have to move. But it is very different to stay by choice after you have seen what your equity could do than to stay by default because you have never seen the math.
2) “We have thought about it, but that three percent mortgage…”
The other big group is people who have absolutely thought about moving, can list three reasons the house does not really fit anymore, and then stop themselves with, “We would be idiots to give up this rate.”
And that point is fair.
But, those same NAR reports make two things clear:
Most successful buyers today are using equity and larger down payments to make the numbers work.
In other words, people are not waiting for a perfect rate. They are using their balance sheets to buy a life that fits.
The question for you is not, “Is three percent a good rate.” It definitely is.
The question is, “Is keeping that three percent rate worth staying in a house and a setup that does not really work for the next ten to fifteen years.”
The clean way to answer that is with numbers, not assumptions:
What would your place likely sell for in this market?
After paying off the loan and costs, how much equity is left?
If you point that equity at a right sized, better located home, what does the total monthly cost look like, including principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and upkeep?
What do you get back in daily life if you make that move, in time, energy, health, and proximity to the people who matter?
Sometimes the outcome is, “Staying put is actually the smart play.”
Sometimes it’s, “You can move into something that fits you better and still come out okay on the money side.”
Both answers are fine. The mistake is letting one line on your mortgage statement decide everything by itself.
Quick personal note:
From 2010 to 2016, I went through more life change than I ever expected. Loss, health, family, career, all stacked up at the exact time in life when my money decisions really mattered. (I was 49-55). My rule back then was “no big decisions.” That definitely saved me from a few mistakes, and it absolutely cost me a few chances. I’ll probably never know the full ramifications.
I DO NOT talk you into or out of anything. I am saying I have seen what it looks like to freeze on decisions, and I have seen what it looks like to move forward, maybe with confidence, maybe not.
If you want another set of eyes from someone who has actually lived some of this, not just read a market report, that is the role I am trying to play.
Not as your ‘trusted advisor’ – for fucks sake, that phrase makes me wanna puke. But as someone who’s lived thru a lot of what I’m talking about.
If you are curious where you actually stand, whether you are in the “we are fine” camp or the “three percent has us stuck” camp, hit reply and tell me which one sounds more like you.
I will put together a simple side by side using your house, your loan, and real Boulder numbers, stay versus move up or down.
No drama, no “you should.” Just a clear view of your options so you can decide on purpose, not by default.
