Recently "for sale" signs in neighbors' yards have made me go to real estate sites and been impressed with what they're selling for. I know the prices online may not be totally accurate, but the properties are selling very quickly so they must be good offers.
Mrs. Doe and I are currently happy with our place, but I wonder what price it would take to make us sell and downsize. We're in our early thirties with no plans for children, and the home is 3br with 2 living areas and more storage than really necessary. If we moved it would be in a very similar location so commutes (both WFH currently anyway...who knows for how long), perks, etc. wouldn't really be significantly different either way. We plan on working and staying in this area for at least 20 years. The current neighborhood is mostly quiet and the people nearby are fine. Let's say there is no mortgage either way just for simplicity.
So I'm wondering how I should place a value on things like:
- new set of maintenance issues (would likely be an older house)
- older part of town (crime, noise, lose network of current neighbors, etc)
- moving (not all that enjoyable, although it does force a thinning out of junk)
What difference in sale prices would make you do it? $70k? $50k? $10k? I presume we'd just throw the extra money in index funds (which isn't exactly a sure bet right now, but that's another topic...) unless there is a better alternative you'd suggest.