Poll - House value to net worth

[MichaelB]

The popularity of this thread suggests we should have a poll. http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/house-value-to-net-worth-87686.html

What is the value of your house to your total net worth, as a percent, using your best guess at the current estimated market value the market value. If you have a mortgage, subtract it from your net worth. If you have multiple residences for personal use, include them all.

 

[Car-Guy]

Two homes, and I voted between 5 and 10%. Probably close to 7%.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I voted 20% as I live in an arear where the average price of a home is $800k Not sure what the poll proves?

 

[stepford]

16% of my NW, 12% if you include DW's NW as well (though mine's the only name on the deed) so I answered 10-15%. I suspect my fellow residents of CA and other areas of ridiculously expensive housing skew this number higher than one might otherwise expect.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I came in at 12.1%. I did count what I call "perceived value" of my COLA-protected pension which makes my numbers pretty useless to most people. What is my "perceived value" of my pension you ask? Basically the lump sum I would be required to have in order to draw 3.5% after tax.

 

[poorcarver]

Meaningless to me as I do not include my home value in my net worth.

 

[Happyras]

A very interesting poll...If not the home, what does make up the majority of net worth?
I am doing some reflection on what this means, it seems logical for those that downsize to have a smaller %, but we tend to keep up sizing and live in the heart of Microsoft country where values are crazy. (We spent >500k on a starter home for our kids)
For us its 25% home, 25% business, 20% rentals, 30% equities and bonds
I don't consider personal property, pensions, vehicles, or horses in my NW.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Meaningless to me as I do not include my home value in my net worth.

If this is the case, then why even respond?

I think it's a reflection of folks here...it's all about the Benjamins and many people (at least myself) here probably like crunching numbers. I do it incessantly. Is it really necessary? Yeah probably not, but then again, that is some of the reason I am FIREd, too.

Also, this number isn't for anything but an online poll that amounts to nothing more than a hill of beans. It took me about 20 seconds to come up with a number...and it doesn't change anything in the grand scheme of things.

 

[2017ish]

A very interesting poll...If not the home, what does make up the majority of net worth?
...

Tax deferred accounts in our case... By a lot. Even the non-tax-preferred accounts exceed what I carry the house on the books for.

That's why location is so important when looking at these polls/threads. We clearly don't live in NYC, NorCal, or Seattle. (We have over 4000 square ft on 25 acres, 25 minutes commute to state capital.)

 

[RobbieB]

I have a 1400 sq-ft house on a 7000 sq-ft lot. Yup, pretty small. But it doesn't cost much to heat or cool and it's a cozy nook for 2 people with no stairs. I've lived in this house for 28 years and no plans to move. During that time it's tripled in value but the property tax has gone up only 60%. Last year I installed solar to keep my utilities low.

It's one thing that makes for a nice stress free retirement -

 

[exnavynuke]

I put 25% or more, but I don't count the value of pension in my NW normally, so I didn't include that in the calculation. Otherwise it would have been quite a bit lower.

 

[bclover]

Meaningless to me as I do not include my home value in my net worth.

this is me

 

[Live And Learn]

Interesting poll. I like it. I remember a time when I was "house rich, cash poor" (right after buying my first home). This (at 4% of NW) feels more comfy.

 

[youbet]

Meaningless to me as I do not include my home value in my net worth.

And neither does this poll.........

 

[Cobra9777]

I answered 20%. Our home is 4,500 sq ft on 2.2 acres with a pool and pond. We're in a reasonably LCOL area in Texas, although very much a seller's market at the moment. We plan to downsize at some point, which will drop this to probably 10-12%.

I put 25% or more, but I don't count the value of pension in my NW normally, so I didn't include that in the calculation. Otherwise it would have been quite a bit lower.

+1

My numbers above were all based on NW excluding the NPV of our 2 pensions. Had we both taken the lump sum option, our number would be 14% now and 8% after downsizing. Lots of issues trying to measure and compare stuff like this, but it's still interesting to see the results, which right now are spread out fairly equally.

 

[rodi]

I live in coastal SoCal... nuff said.

Doesn't matter... I like where I live. My house is paid off and moderately sized (2k sf). It doesn't cost much to stay here since Prop 13 keeps the taxes low.

I could sell and buy something cheaper elsewhere... but I have enough nest egg I don't need to. And, like I said... I like where I live. I like being a 15 minute drive to the beach (where I walk the dog, daily). I like being coastal with the moderating breezes/temps. I like my neighbors.

 

[rodi]

I live in coastal SoCal... nuff said.

Doesn't matter... I like where I live. My house is paid off and moderately sized (2k sf). It doesn't cost much to stay here since Prop 13 keeps the taxes low.

I could sell and buy something cheaper elsewhere... but I have enough nest egg I don't need to. And, like I said... I like where I live. I like being a 15 minute drive to the beach (where I walk the dog, daily). I like being coastal with the moderating breezes/temps. I like my neighbors.

 

[2017ish]

I live in coastal SoCal... nuff said.

Doesn't matter... I like where I live. My house is paid off and moderately sized (2k sf). It doesn't cost much to stay here since Prop 13 keeps the taxes low.

I could sell and buy something cheaper elsewhere... but I have enough nest egg I don't need to. And, like I said... I like where I live. I like being a 15 minute drive to the beach (where I walk the dog, daily). I like being coastal with the moderating breezes/temps. I like my neighbors.

+1. These are important points--and sometimes get overlooked when people stress how much capital one could theoretically free up by departing for LCOL area. (Us, we made a considered decision to stay in flyover land, save, and vacation to warm water coral reefs; others made the opposite decision. Neither way is objectively correct, IMHO.)

 

[NW-Bound]

A very interesting poll...If not the home, what does make up the majority of net worth?...

Well, many people have stocks, bonds, cash that are worth a lot more than their home(s). And not everybody lives in coastal areas where homes are expensive.

Homes in California are so expensive, it makes me cringe when seeing small old homes going for $500K-600K.

 

[ncbill]

Well, many people have stocks, bonds, cash that are worth a lot more than their home(s). And not everybody lives in coastal areas where homes are expensive.

Homes in California are so expensive, it makes me cringe when seeing small old homes going for $500K-600K.

My old college roommate moved out to the San Jose area 15 years ago & bought a 3/2 SFR for around $500,000 then.

Zillow pegs it at $1,500,000 today, and comps look close to that number.

Because of the above, his company is having trouble attracting workers, and may move out of state. If so, I think my buddy will be able to finance his ER on the home sale alone...

 

[joeea]

I don't consider personal property, pensions, vehicles, or horses in my NW.

I don't consider horses in my net worth, either.

And even if I actually owned a horse, I probably wouldn't include it in my net worth.

 

[NW-Bound]

My old college roommate moved out to the San Jose area 15 years ago & bought a 3/2 SFR for around $500,000 then.

Zillow pegs it at $1,500,000 today, and comps look close to that number.

Because of the above, his company is having trouble attracting workers, and may move out of state. If so, I think my buddy will be able to finance his ER on the home sale alone...

My younger brother refused a job offer from Google because they did not pay him enough. Surely, their pay was higher, and the option grant was worth several hundred K$. But he would not want to leave his 4,500-sq.ft. home to go live in an old little home in Mountain View. He and his wife love a big home. They recently upgraded to an even larger home. How many $M he would need to buy the same, if he moved to Google?

And myself, I refused a job offer 35 years ago to move to Santa Monica to work for an avionics company. They gave me 20% raise, 3 weeks of vacation, my own covered parking spot. But when I looked at the homes that I could afford, I rejected the offer. And even back then, the 1 to 1.5-hr commute one-way to work would lower the quality of life so much they could not pay me enough.

 

[Midpack]

Barely over 5%...

 

[braumeister]

My favorite home story comes from a friend who built a really nice custom home in Redmond Washington in the early 80s. A few years later Microsoft moved its HQ there, about a half mile away.

He sold that house for a staggering profit.

 

[Rustic23]

+25% including net value of pensions 7%