A change in employment, a job in another state, the grandchildren live in Seattle, the kids are all married; these are situations. When asked, “Why are you selling your house? Why are you moving?” any of those replies only reference a situation in the person’s life. They are not reasons for selling, for moving.
The reason a person sells their house is as simple as, “I want something different. I have this, but I want that. Having this keeps me from getting that.” What they want might be different real estate, different weather, different lifestyle. When the house a person owns can not be retained in order to get that next thing, the house becomes the key to their future. Then why does history, the past life, memories of the house weigh so heavily in the decision to sell? I believe the hangup in selling is always tied to a weak commitment to the next thing. When we want something bad enough, we will let go of what keeps us from getting it. If I want to be in Texas with my family and the kids enrolled in school by August 15th, I won’t let a few thousand dollars difference get in the way. My reason for selling is the solution to getting what I want more than what I have.
When a person says they won’t sell for X price below their asking price, the reason is because they want to keep this, more than they want to have that. Regardless of the situation, the reason to not sell at X price is to keep what I have right now. Only when getting the next thing is more important than keeping this thing will we reach an agreement with a buyer. Until then all buyers are competing with the seller/owner. It’s hard to outbid an owner when they want what they have more than what they might acquire. Maybe a fear of the future, the unknown, is greater than the comfort of the present, the known. The money will be enough when desire for the future exceeds fear of loss or what might be.
