This Is the City Where Downsizing Saves the Most

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
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This Is the City Where Downsizing Saves the Most

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The real estate market has exploded. In 2021, prices are up nationwide compared to 2020. This is true in most cities and states as well. The widely followed S&P/Case Shiller Index shows that the number is over 20% in some states. The reasons for the rise include historically low mortgage costs. Also, many people want to move from expensive cities on the coasts to less expensive cities inland. These smaller cities are often perceived as having a better quality of life. Relocation has become easier because millions of people can work from home and do not have to go to offices that are often in the larger metropolitan areas.

Many people who sell homes have made large returns on their investments. For people who want to move to smaller homes, it is a particularly good time. They can take their home equity and use it to buy less expensive homes with fewer square feet. This can be particularly attractive to couples who had children at home that have left as they grew older.

StorageCafé looked at the country’s 20 largest markets by population to determine the difference between the price of a four-bedroom home and one with only two bedrooms. The research also considered changes in property taxes over 10 years and selling and buying closing costs.

It is not surprising that the cities that top the list are the most expensive housing markets in the country. The city with the most downsize savings was San Francisco at $406,600. It was followed by San Diego, Los Angeles and Seattle (see list below).
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The study pointed out that there are some aspects of downsizing that are not just the difference in home prices. The researchers wrote:

Downsizing serves homeowners in a variety of ways. Not only can people enjoy premier locations for less, but they’re also setting themselves up for a simpler, often easier living situation. A smaller home means less maintenance work and cleaning efforts, reduced utility costs and a lower carbon footprint.

These are the 10 cities where downsizing saves the most:

  • San Francisco ($406,600)
  • San Diego ($264,700)
  • Los Angeles ($239,800)
  • Seattle ($234,500)
  • Miami ($233,700)
  • Boston ($232,900)
  • New York ($215,400)
  • Detroit ($209,800)
  • Washington ($209,600)
  • Philadelphia ($194,000)

Click here to see the most expensive cities to buy a home in.
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Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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