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Greg Bonnell

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It’s a question many retired homeowners in Canada’s most expensive markets can’t help but entertain in an age of record high prices: Is it time to sell my house?

With years of home price appreciation under their belts, retirees may feel they're holding a winning lottery ticket. But there are important considerations to make before cashing that ticket in.

While the windfall is enticing, the biggest consideration should be lifestyle, says Ted Rechtshaffen, president and CEO of TriDelta Financial.

Ask yourself if the house is now too large for you, or too difficult to manage. And consider where your wealth is concentrated.

“If you house is a big part of your net worth, how much risk do you want to have in having all that investment tied up in one thing?” Rechtshaffen told BNN in an interview.

Retirees thinking about selling their home often have concerns about new costs – rent, condo fees or retirement residence fees.

You have to live somewhere, after all. So do you rent or buy?

“Unless you’re going to be in a home for at least six years, it’s probably better to rent than to buy,” said Rechtshaffen, pointing to realtor fees, legal fees and property transfer taxes.

Retired seniors might also be considering a reverse mortgage to tap home equity while staying in their homes, but Rechtshaffen calls that a “last resort.”

“It can be much simpler,” he said.

“You can just go to your bank and say, ‘I’d like a home equity line of credit please.’ It’s a much simpler product usually at a lower interest rate.”

While the reverse mortgage only comes due when you die or sell the house, interest rates are generally higher – and that interest accrues on the loan. That means the reverse mortgage balance continues to grow.

“The reverse mortgage is really if you can’t get financing any other way,” said Rechtshaffen.

“We don’t say that it’s not a solution, it’s just not the first solution.”

For those worried about selling now and missing out on another one or two years of home price appreciation, Rechtshaffen says they shouldn’t get caught up in trying to time the market.

“Real estate is no different than anything else, it does not only go up,” he said.

“Even if you’re a year early, two years early, the lottery ticket and cashing it in, it can’t be a bad time to do it, even if it’s not the peak.”