Downsizing sounds simple until you try to line up the sale of one home with the purchase of the next. The most common mistake is not knowing what the current home is really worth before making the next move.
Sell first
You know exactly what you have to spend, and you are a stronger buyer with no contingency. The risk is timing: you may need a short rental between homes.
Buy first
You move once and on your schedule, but you carry two homes until the first one sells, and a slow sale can get expensive.
The option most downsizers do not know about
If the current home is older and on a good lot, a builder may buy it as-is with a flexible closing date, which solves the timing problem entirely. You pick the date, there are no showings while you are packing, and no repairs on a house you are leaving anyway.
Start with the number. We send you what your home would sell for listed and what a builder would pay as-is, free, so the sell-first or buy-first question answers itself.