Conditions Are Right For Buying The Higher Priced Home You'Ve Always Wanted

Higher interest rates and home prices in the past have kept home owners from purchasing larger homes. The current real estate market conditions, however, are encouraging for many home owners who want to "buy up" to higher priced homes with more to offer.

If you are considering trading up for a larger and more expensive home, conditions for doing so couldn't get much better. Interest rates are the lowest they've been in two decades, and home prices in many regions are the most affordable they've been in years.

You should consider a few factors before reaching a decision to trade up:

• Can you afford higher mortgage payments and property taxes?

• Is your credit record solid enough to qualify for the probable higher monthly mortgage payments?

• Do you plan to stay in your new home long enough to recoup your investment?

Obviously, you'll need to sell your current home before getting serious about trading up to a new one. A healthy real estate market indicates that you'll have little trouble selling your existing home. The national Association of Realtors reported in August that sales of existing single-family homes are rising steadily, especially among first-time buyers. Affordable home prices and low interest rates could make the starter home you purchase several years ago particularly attractive.

If you can afford the up-front cost, you may want to consider switching the fixed-rate mortgage on your old house for an adjustable rate on a new one. This could allow you to trade up without increasing your monthly payments.

The type of mortgage you choose also depends on how long you plan to stay in your new home. A good mortgage lender can advise you on whether a fixed-rate is an advantage is you're planning on staying for more than 10 years. A fixed-rate may be better for long term owners who don't want to worry about rising mortgage payments.

Trading up may not be worth the move if you're planning on living in the new home for only a couple of years. You might have to stay three to five years for your house to appreciate enough to recoup the closing costs.

Conditions for a move-up haven't been this good in many years, and you may not want to wait much longer to consider it. An experienced real estate broker can help you decide if buying a new house now is a good investment for you.

About The Author

W. Troy Swezey is the author of "CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT FOR BUYING THE HIGHER PRICED HOME YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED." As a Realtor at Century 21 Paul & Associates, he has helped many individuals with their real estate needs. Visit his web site to download his free e-book, "REAL ESTATE SECRETS EXPOSED." http://www.TroyIsMyRealtor.com or mail to: TroyC21@usa.net

After 30 years of marriage, Sharon and Michael Newman decided it was finally time to move from the Catskills to New York City.

The house, designed by the architect Eric Fisher, looms over the street like a big industrial arm.

A town house in Dallas, a midcentury modern in Rhode Island and a Tudor in Denver.

Meet the real estate broker’s interns: an ambitious group willing to do anything, earn nothing and wake up early on a Sunday to fluff the couch cushions at open houses.

For a century, Roosevelt Island housed a grim penitentiary. It was demolished in the 1930s.

More borrowers are opting for fixed-rate loans with terms other than the standard 30 or 15 years, especially when it comes to refinancings.

Two more glass skyscrapers are added to a group of towers on the waterfront of Long Island City.

Insurance coverage for a co-op unit; when a tenant is ‘blacklisted’; a co-op is smaller than estimated.

The market for $500,000-to-$600,000 houses in Westchester has become especially active.

A shaky real estate market means more sellers are providing buyer concessions, from gift cards to help with paying property taxes.

Houses of worship are adaptable to residential and other uses as congregations dwindle.

Nearly two million Americans could benefit from mortgage relief from the nation’s biggest banks, as part of a broad government settlement to be announced on Thursday.

A cold war-era satellite relay station is for sale in California after a Silicon Valley mogul gave up on plans to turn it into a weekend home.

How can I make my front porch more appealing to buyers?

Court hearings meant to protect New York homeowners from foreclosure are hopelessly slowed by endless paperwork and requests for additional information.

The Bay Area and Silicon Valley expect the windfall from the Facebook stock offering to make their in-demand region even hotter.

A Ditmas Park co-op, Upper East Side co-op and an Upper West Side condo.

A 10-year-old house with six bedrooms in Montvale, N.J., and a renovated four-bedroom in Bronxville, N.Y.

Prices in some parts of the country are still off by as much as 25 percent from their 2007 peak.

Trinity Church is the largest landlord in Hudson Square and is part of the effort to rezone the area to residential from manufacturing.

Rising oil prices and a boom in shale exploration are leading companies to add office space in the Houston area, most notably Exxon Mobil.

Ms. de França is the president and chief executive of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, which focuses on new residential developments.

In Manhattan, parking lots and garages are making way for all sorts of development, especially luxury condominiums.

Gray Burton lives in a 250-square-foot space he furnished with antiques he’s been collecting for years.

A photogenic Westchester suburb with high-profile residents is also known for its art museum and a performing arts center.

Wealthy investors are wiring millions of dollars to New York to snatch up a piece of 157 West 57th Street - what will be New York City's tallest residential building, with 90 floors overlooking Central Park.

An apartment at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, opposite Central Park, was bought anonymously through a limited liability company.

Homes in Dallas, Rhode Island and Denver.

A Ditmas Park co-op, Upper East Side co-op and an Upper West Side condo.

A 10-year-old house with six bedrooms in Montvale, N.J., and a renovated four-bedroom in Bronxville, N.Y.

Compare the cost of renting and buying equivalent homes.

For recently divorced men, a new breed of decorators offers help navigating a strange new world.

Plants that light up the winter garden can be found at Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut, which has long been a favorite of gardening geeks.

A sister in need drew the painter Beverly McIver back home to North Carolina, unaware that a new beginning was in store for both of them.

A jewelry designer finds striking new objects for storage.

Timothy Sakamoto and Jochen Repolust are part of the small but growing niche making mobile apps focused on specific works of architecture.

To promote an auction of 20th- and 21st-century design, the interior designer Stephen Sills has created a preview exhibition in an apartment at the Apthorp.

Fishs Eddy now sells plates acquired from the archives of the now-defunct Syracuse China Corporation, many more than 100 years old.

The designer Russell Greenberg creates custom baby rattles with ends shaped like profiles of mom and dad.