This is a somewhat stagnant market. Too many homes, not enough serious buyers. The question is, do you really want to sell when there are so many homes like yours out there?

We all believe our home, like our family, is different…better…..worth more. However, if there are fifteen homes just like yours on the market, what is going to make someone pay a whole lot more for yours? In this market, probably not much. They are shopping price and size first, then picking the best in that category.

If you aren’t in the right price category, you won’t even be seen. And if you aren’t seen, you won’t be purchased. It is pretty simple, honestly. Supply, demand. Hula hoops, pet rocks, Cabbage Patch dolls, all had their time, but timing is everything.

Take another look at your bottom line. At a garage sale, the items sell that were priced right the first time. That buyer may only be there once. The ones who come pick at the leftovers never offer more than 10Cents on the dollar, if that.

Do yourself a favor and take the biggest markdown before you put it on the market. That’s when you have the most to gain, not lose. It is all in re-adjusting your eyesight. Do it first and be one of the lucky ones who sell their home. And know you will benefit when you are the buyer on your new one.

It is often difficult to change our habits, even when they aren’t working well for us at all. Somehow it seems easier if we are accountable to someone. Does that reach back to the place where we wanted to win a race to see the look on Mom or Dad’s face? Or to bring home a ribbon or a trophy? To have a visible measure of the worth of our effort?

Is the effort less worthy if nobody knows? Not at all, maybe even more worthy for not having to shout it out. But perhaps not as much fun if kept to ourselves. Joy shared feels like more joy than just recognition alone. Alone it feels similar to checking off an item on a long to do list, not an amazing turn around of a deep-seated habit!

For that, it is nice to have family, friends or community. They are our support people and our cheerleaders, there to help us up if we trip, so that we can stay on the path. Most of us hope to inspire others in some way, and in isolation, that is impossible….except for inspiring ourselves to beat our own record the next time, to reach for an even higher goal.  That counts,too, perhaps even more.

Anytime we start something new, we have the power to create a fresh version of ourselves. The sum total of what we have learned comes with us into any new situation or relationship. Just like moving into a new home, how often do we really examine the things we are bringing with us?

Do they hold good memories, or are we merely dragging them along because they have always been with us? Boxes of books and magazines we haven’t read. Clothes that fit a body that may never return. Grandmother’s dresser that your sister really wanted and you don’t even like, but coveted the prize she sought?

How much easier life would be if we let go of some of the things we lug around, to make room for the person we are choosing to grow into. There is little room for a plant to grow in a crowded pot.

A new job allows the same possibilities. Bringing what you know into a fresh light with new sources of knowledge and awareness. The opportunity to find challenges to expand your mind and your horizon. To see yourself anew in a different place.

That is one of the hopes of a move, many times. To give ourselves a place to bloom and grow toward a light that may have become hidden. Light is such an important factor in the choosing of most homes. I have noticed that dark homes seem to attract secretive souls, while most people look for an abundance of natural light. Certainly there are times in our lives when we may cling to darkness, but we can always choose to turn on the light.

….comes around, or so they say. How often do we notice how true that is? That we are often rewarded for something we have done, though perhaps not by the one who may have been on the receiving end?

It is obvious to me (because I notice and remark about these things) that often when we experience a loss, there is a similar gain somewhere in our personal world, be it to a child, a parent, or a friend. Often we don’t count those as our gains. However, if that same person had experienced the opposite, we would certainly have felt their pain.

We pray for things but often don’t  realize that they have been granted, and that those answers are as much gifts to us as they are to the person in our prayers.

We are all part of the people around us, the ‘family’ in our daily lives. Notice how much the good that comes into their lives benefits your peace of mind, freeing you to keep doing what you need to do, as another problem has been solved. They are all our gifts, no matter who opens them!

The front door is the business card of your residence. It says whether you draw people in by your welcome, or perhaps like to stay hidden behind a front entrance that really says “I don’t care if you come in or not.”

There are doors with so much stuff at the entrance that we aren’t sure if there is room for us to get in, or if we are just supposed to admire their arrangement, as in a museum. Some people go in through their garage and never even notice whether their entrance is inviting or not.

Whenever possible, my choice is a red door. Is has an energy to it, in any shade from burgundy to rust. It glistens like the lipstick on a woman’s mouth and gives your home a smile. It keeps you focused as you approach the driveway, and lingers in your mind as you back out. There is no way you could miss the message “We’re excited to see you….come on in!”

My posts sometimes appear to be a little about real estate and a lot about life. That is because I find buying a new home often represents all the unfinished business we hope a different house will miraculously take care of. “If I had more cabinets, I would put more stuff away. If I had a sidewalk I would walk every day and lose wieght.” It really isn’t true, from my observations.

We will take our same habits and intentions to the new place, and there is no guarantee that anything will be different because we have moved. Tenants who care for a tiny house are apt to take equal care of a larger one. If your relationship is stressed, buying a new home will probably just magnify the problems.

Take a serious look at the reasons you want to move, then see if any of them can be applied right where you are. It might save you a lot of time and money!