Advise for beginner, to sell or not to sell?

[Guillermo Rozenblat]

Hello all,

So back in October 2021, my wife and I decided to move to closer to my family, in Austin Texas. So in November, we put our Miami apartment up for rent, and it has been rented since (cash flowing about $500 right now, rented at $2000, with $1500 expenses including mortgage), and we've been living at my parent's second home (in Austin, while they also transition from Miami).

Long story short, we had a change of heart, and are no longer interested in living here in Austin due to family issues. So we will most likely be living overseas by my wife's family (in Argentina), renting an apartment in the city.

However, back in October 2021, we put a $6,000 hold fee on a new constructions, price locked at 385k for a 3/2 1500sqft right outside of downtown Austin. The house is scheduled to be delivered and closing mid September 2022.

I looked at Zillow rentals around the area, and bigger houses are being rented at $2,500 tops. Mortgage and taxes alone (with a 40% down payment which I originally wanted to put down) would have been around $2,500, so I would be breaking even, coughing up $160,000.

With the recent market turmoil, I've seen the same house from the same builder (in the norther part of town, about same distance from downtown Austin), listed at $485k – so $100k more than what I locked my price at.

My question is... should I not buy it and lose the $6k? Should I keep it as a rental even though it wouldn't  cashflow? Should I just sell it as soon as I buy and invest my money elsewhere? Just trying to figure out what's best for us.

Thanks so much for your advise in advance!