Houses

My wife and I moved to this part of Florida around Thanksgiving 2014. We paid X$ for our house and then some $ more for a lanai screen and pool. One real estate site says our house is now worth more than 2X$.

One part of the neighborhood has “cottage homes.” Eight years ago those were $99,000-$129,000, depending on style. A few days ago, one went for $469,000.

A friend lives in a classier part of the neighborhood. She and her husband paid $300,000-plus. A next-door house last week sold for $600,000-plus.

So, current homeowners can get two and three times more than they paid. But what then? A seller can’t buy a better house than he/she sold. A seller would have to downsize in order to make any money, and even then it’s a gamble as to when the housing bubble bursts. Or doesn’t. 

My wife and I will apply our conservative lifestyle to housing and hold onto the house.