January 3, 2024 | Buying

Top 10 Reasons to Move to a Bigger House

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Reason 1: Life Transitions

One of the primary reasons people consider moving to a larger home is due to life transitions such as cohabitation, marriage, evolving family structure, or aging parents moving in with them. While a larger living space is often necessary, these life changes can also require a different type of environment. For instance, moving from a condo to a house might be necessary to establish better boundaries with in-laws, or selling a townhouse might be necessary if a toddler is struggling with stairs. Additionally, a larger home can provide essential amenities such as a yard for children, a basement for teenagers, or a nanny suite for a caregiver. Overall, moving to a bigger home during life transitions can help alleviate stress and provide a foundation for future success.

Reason 2: Unexpected Financial Windfall

Can you afford to move into a bigger house? Occasionally, the decision to upgrade is straightforward: there’s a sudden influx of funds, offering opportunities to enhance one’s lifestyle. This could be attributed to positive factors such as a job promotion, bonus, significant salary increase, or successful investments in areas such as cryptocurrency or stocks. Alternatively, it could be due to unforeseeable circumstances such as inheritance, divorce, or lawsuit settlements. Regardless of the reasons, upgrading to a bigger home is often a logical choice when one’s financial situation improves.

Reason 3: You Need More Space

The high prices of homes mean many of us are living in homes that are smaller than we want them to be. Your closets are overflowing, you are renting offsite storage lockers, you’re sharing your bedroom with the baby and shipping your parents off to a hotel when they visit. More space just might equal more sanity.

Many of us find ourselves constrained to smaller living spaces. This often results in overflowing closets, offsite storage rentals, and even sharing bedrooms with our children or sending guests to hotels. The acquisition of additional space could translate to increased mental clarity and overall well-being.

Reason 4: You Want an Income Apartment

Homeowners rent out part of their homes to help subsidize their mortgage or allow them to live in a neighbourhood they couldn’t otherwise afford. It’s not always easy to turn an existing basement into an apartment, and unless you want a roommate, you can’t turn your condo into an income-producing investment. The solution? Move to a bigger home that already has income potential.

Reason 5: There’s No Better Place to Watch Your Money Grow

If you’ve got available cash, where better to invest your surplus money? Of course, it’s important to diversify your investments, we’re not suggesting that you should put ALL of your money into real estate. But you can’t live in your stock portfolio either.

Reason 6: Increase Your ROI

Sorry, time for some math. If you own a home and prices go up 15% while you own it, here’s what your return on investment looks like at different price points:

$112,500 on a $750,000 home

$150,000 on a $1 million home

$225,000 on a $1.5 million home

$300,000 on a $2 million home

Reason 7: Tax-Free Investment

As Canadians, we are taxed alot. The good news is that your primary home is exempt from capital gains tax, so if it increases in value by $200,000, that’s $200,000 tax-free into your bank account when you sell it. If you’re looking to maximize your tax-free primary home exemption, buy a bigger home. A 10% increase on a $1.5 million home is an extra $50K tax-free more than you’d have if you lived in a 1 million dollar home.

Reason 8: To Save Your Marriage

Can a larger house bring happiness? A bigger home could potentially save a marriage by adding extra amenities, such as an additional bathroom for a spouse or multiple living spaces to accommodate different TV preferences simultaneously. A larger home can also mitigate clutter-related conflicts and provide more privacy during disagreements. As the famous adage goes, “Happy Wife, Happy Life,” and this principle applies to husbands as well, even if it doesn’t rhyme as well.

Reason 9: Work From Home

Whether your boss has finally decided to let you work from home or your side hustle is blossoming into a real business, having a dedicated home office can dramatically improve your productivity. Bonus: you can write off a portion of the costs of your home against your income taxes!

Reason 10: Forced Savings Via Your Mortgage Payment

While you probably don’t actively think about your mortgage payment every month, part of every payment you make is going towards paying back the principal of your mortgage and building equity in your home…you’re essentially paying yourself. Buying a bigger home (and thus paying a bigger mortgage payment) means that you’re being forced to “save money” you might otherwise waste on frivolities. Of course, there are interest costs to consider too, but if a move to a bigger home means that you’re putting an extra $200 a month against the equity in your home, you’re essentially paying yourself an extra $200 a month.