A Penny Saved

I like to track my net worth to see how I am doing overall toward our financial goals. I include our house as an asset, so I have been curious to see how all the news about housing and the sub prime market has affected my home’s worth and therefore my net worth. I track housing prices in my area by going to www.zillow.com. It is a great site with lots of information. The site will tell you a zestimate (their play on estimate) of what your home is worth based on what it sold for last time it was up for sale, and also by what other houses are selling for in your neighborhood. It’s a pretty cool tool to use - you can even see an arial shot of your neighborhood.

Right now for the year, my home’s estimated worth is down by 5 percent, not surprising with all that is going on in real estate. The good news is that the overall estimated selling price is up over 35% since I bought the home in 2004. I am pretty conservative in how I value my home for net worth purposes, so even though I am up over 35% for three years, or down 5% for one year, what I have the home valued at is below both by about $25,000. I will probably ride the current real estate storm out for the next few years before deciding on adjusting my home valuation for net worth purposes.

I know some people don’t include their houses in their net worth, but for me since it is currently my largest investment, and my largest debt, I believe it is important to use in calculating what is happening to me financially. Would love to hear what others do regarding their net worth.