(WUSA) -- Maybe you think it would be great to get out from under that big mortgage, or that big house is more room than you really need. Still, some concerns are holding you back. Eldad Moraru from Bethesda's Long & Foster office says emotional factors plague homeowners considering downsizing; specifically the hope that their home will return to the higher prices of a few years ago. Moraru says he think "that's unrealistic," anytime soon.
Still, downsizing in a down housing market may be easier and more profitable than you think. Putting those emotional factors about downsizing on the shelf, there is a real case to be made if you downsize from one specific type of property. The buyers are out there for single family homes. Some buyers are even getting multiple offers.
Moraru says in the ideal scenario, someone in a single-family home with good neighboring schools can command top dollar. The next step would be to consider types of properties that are still suffering, price-wise, such as condos or some smaller ramblers. He says you could still make a deal for half the price of the peak.
Record low mortgage rates also make the home-buying math more attractive. Home prices in the Washington area are now back to 2004, pre-bubble levels, according to the latest report from S&P/Case-Shiller. That means if you brought the same house today, at today's prices and interest rates, the mortgage would cost you 25 percent less a month than eight years ago.