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Beyond the "Bubble"
Smart Home Buying (and Selling)
in an Age of Hype
in an Age of Hype
Don't let a "hot housing market" cloud your judgment. If you were lucky enough to buy a nice house in a thriving market 10 years ago, the temptation to sell and clear a tidy profit can be huge. But because you can sell doesn't mean you should. Do you really want to uproot your kids from school? Are you ready to break ties with the neighbors you've come to know and like? Are you likely to fall into the trap of choosing a trade up that's too "up" for your budget and bank account? Consider all angles before you make your decision.
"Nothing's wrong with spending money to trade in one house for another, but before you set those wheels in motion, think about the impact of that kind of spending on other aspects of your life," Tyson and his co-author Ray Brown write in House Selling for Dummies. "The more you spend on housing, the less you'll have for other goals that you may have defined for yourself, such as saving for retirement, taking annual vacations and spending less time working and more time with your family and friends."
If you do decide to sell, don't get greedy and grossly overprice your house.
You may be tempted to do so in hopes that an uneducated buyer may pay you more than the property is really worth. The danger in this strategy is that you won't find a fool who will part with all that money for your overpriced property, and no one else will bid on it. Then, as you lower the price closer to what the house is 
really worth, prospective buyers may be wary of buying your property because of the extended length of time it's been on the market. In the end, you may have a hard time getting 100 percent of what your home is really worth. Price to sell and you won't regret it.