Mommy of 5 will be a mommy of 6 in Dec. We built our 4 bedroom (2100 sq. ft) 2 story home 11 yrs. ago. We both want to build a single story larger home, but can't agree on building now or waiting a few years. We live in a subdivision of about 40 houses. Only 3 homes have been for sale in the last 3 yrs. All three listed for $300,000-340,000. One sold for $295,000 and the other for 303,000 and were on the market for a year. The other wouldn't budge on price and took it off the market. All three homes were 2600-3000 sq. ft homes. The higher priced home didn't have a finished basement either.

My DH thinks our house won't sell and even though it's paid off we'll need the money for the new build. We all know the housing market is bad right now so I don't think he's entirely wrong. Our house is on a cul-de-sac, isn't as big as the others and will be priced around $275k. We live in a small town of 1000 people and have a great school system. There are only 2 developments in town and only 3 lots left. The septic system laws changed in Ohio so anyone wanting to build in the country has to put in a different system that hasn't been used in this county yet. Plus it's more expensive than the old system.

So, I am the optomist. I think that for those who want to move up from their starter homes to something bigger our house would be perfect. They wouldn't be able to build this house again in town for the asking price and a lot of people don't want the hassle of building. Most of the homes in this area are 2000-2500 sq. ft. Although, if it would sell right away there is no way I would want to move all 8 of us to a rental (I don't even know if there is a rental in the area big enough).

So, what would you do? Go ahead and build now and hope it sells and the buyer lets us stay. Or wait a few years for the market to improve?