Finding Value in Your Current Home
Are you thinking about selling your house in St. Augustine? While affordability is improving this year, it’s still tight. Finding the right balance in the housing market can weigh heavily on your mind. But understanding your home equity could be the key to making your decision easier. An article from Bankrate explains:
“Home equity is the difference between your home’s value and the amount you still owe on your mortgage. It represents the paid-off portion of your home.
You’ll start off with a certain level of equity when you make your down payment to buy the home, then continue to build equity as you pay down your mortgage. You’ll also build equity over time as your home’s value increases.”
Let’s make equity simple. Picture a basic math equation. It’s the value of your home now minus what you owe on your mortgage. And guess what? Recently, your equity has probably grown more than you think.
In the past few years, home prices skyrocketed, which means your home’s value – and your equity – likely shot up, too. So, you may have more equity than you realize.
Let’s look at a few real examples from homes The Newcomer Group has helped sell in St. Augustine.
First up, we sold 225 Moses Creek Boulevard in January 2024 for $636,000. It was last sold for $395,000 in September 2017—that means an annual appreciation rate of 7%.
Or, take a look at a gorgeous condo along the Atlantic Ocean, 850 A1A Beach Blvd. We helped close a deal for $755,000 in December 2023. The previous sale was in August 2015 for $295,000—a whopping annual appreciation rate of 11%.
Finally, we want to share 160 Lincoln St with you. This home was built in Lincolnville in 1939. It sold in August 2003 for $60,000 and then most recently in November 2023 for $475,000. The previous owner did make renovations (you kind of have to when the home is over 80 years old), but that is still a sustained appreciation rate of 11% over the past two decades.
How to Make the Most of Your Home Equity Right Now
If you’re thinking about moving either out of state or to another neighborhood in St. Augustine, the equity you have in your home could be a big help. According to CoreLogic:
“…the average U.S. homeowner with a mortgage still has more than $300,000 in equity…”
Make no mistake, homeowners have a lot of equity right now. And the latest data from the Census and ATTOM shows over two-thirds of homeowners have either completely paid off their mortgages (shown in green in the chart below) or have at least 50% equity (shown in blue in the chart below).
That means roughly 70% have a tremendous amount of equity right now. So, with the basic law of averages, there’s a good chance that includes you.
After you sell your house, you can use your equity to help you buy your next home.
Here’s how:
- Be an all-cash buyer: If you’ve been living in your current home for a long time, you might have enough equity to buy your next home without having to take out a loan. If that’s the case, you won’t need to borrow any money or worry about mortgage rates. The biggest benefit of being an all-cash buyer? Beating out other buyers in close deals.
- Make a larger down payment: Your equity can be used toward your next down payment. It might even be enough to let you put a larger amount down, so you won’t have to borrow as much money.
The Easy Way to Find Out How Much Equity You Have
To find out how much equity you have in your home, ask a real estate agent you trust for a Professional Equity Assessment Report (PEAR).
You can get the process started by finding out how much your home is worth. Just click the link and answer a few questions—especially here in St. Augustine, you might be surprised (in a good way!) by the answer.
Welcome Home to St. Augustine
Whether you’ve just started thinking about life in St. Augustine, or if you’ve lived in the Ancient City your entire life, there is always something more to discover. Feel free to check out our up-to-date real estate listings or give us a call at (904) 599-5633.