Property values continue to rise and those looking to downsize can make the most of the current market highs, but how much you can save by downsizing can vary significantly depending on where you live. A new StorageCafe study found homeowners in the 20 largest U.S. metros could save $194,000 when downsizing from a four-bedroom to a two-bedroom home. In some markets that savings is even higher.
StorageCafe’s methodology looked at the difference between the value of a four-bedroom home versus a two-bedroom home in each metro. The study took into account property taxes over 10 years, as well as closing costs for selling and buying both properties. California led the list with San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles taking the first three spots on the list for large downsizing savings at $406,000, $264,700 and $239,800, respectively.
What type of savings are downsizers seeing in the Houston area? Because homes in Texas tend to be more affordable than every other big state in the country, the savings for downsizing in Houston isn’t as significant as others,. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land ranked 17th on the list. Moving to a smaller home in this metro area would generate $133,000 in savings. Downsizing from a four-bedroom home in The Woodlands to a two-bedroom home in Houston could bring savings of $310,000. Moving from Houston to a smaller home in The Woodlands would only generate a $10,000 savings, according to the report, while relocating from Houston to Sugar Land could bring a gain of almost $40,000.