Should I sell my Denver home and move to a cheaper city when I retire?

Selling your Denver home and moving to a lower-cost market is one of the most practical financial moves a retiree can make right now. Denver home values have held strong, and that equity is real, spendable, and in many cases sitting completely untapped while fixed income gets tighter every year. If you have a clear plan for where you are going and what you need the money to do, this is a legitimate strategy worth taking seriously. The problem is most people either move too fast or wait too long, both usually because nobody helped them think through the full picture. There are real costs to relocating, replacement housing in your target market, tax implications on the sale, what happens to your support network, and whether your health needs can be met in a place you have never lived. These are not reasons to avoid the move. They are reasons to plan it right. I have sat with enough families in Denver who watched a parent lose control of this decision because it was made in a crisis instead of in a calm, steady moment with good information. The equity in a longtime Denver home is often the largest single asset a family will ever deal with. Treating it like a last resort instead of a planned resource is where I see the most heartbreak. The most respectful thing you can do for yourself or a parent right now is to make clear choices before circumstances start making them for you. If you are 65 or older and living in Denver, have you actually looked at what your home equity could fund in a lower-cost city, and does that number change what retirement feels like? — Kevin Lundy | The HomeBridge Group Brokered by eXp Realty