Top 5 Reasons people Make a Move

In this week's episode we answered a few questions from the web and I mentioned that people make moves because of emotion not logic. We tend to talk to homebuyers and sellers about interest rates and the market, but those aren't the real motivators for a move. Those are just considerations people think about when entering the market. The REASON for the move is what gets them into the market in the first place.

A few years ago I was attending a Keller Williams training event someone broke it down into 5 "Ds" for moving. I like to give credit where credit is due, but I do not remember who first said it! I did a quick search on Google and found that the storage industry uses something similar to describe who are the likely users for storage facilities. It makes sense that they would be targeting similar consumers as people tend to use storage when they're making a move!

The "5 Ds" is a simple way to remember why people really move and also may give you a target audience when looking for new business.

The 5 Ds are as follows - not in any particular order:

1. Dependents - this encompasses all family changes. New baby, growing family, kids graduating, empty nesters, etc

2. Deployment - this includes any relocation - military or otherwise

3. Death - I know personally how devastating the death of a parent can be. A death in the family can lead to inherited property that needs to be sold

4. Dividends - These are your investors. Be careful with them though as their motivation for dividends may be tied to a very specific outcome and they may not have the same motivation to move as others

5. Divorce - Divorce or separation happens often in this country. That life change leads to the need to sell a home or for one or both parties to move and potentially buy

To learn more about who the actual people are who are making moves I recommend checking out the annual NAR Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers report. You can take a look at the highlights for free or download the full report. If you are a NAR member it's only $19.95 and well worth the money. Because at the end of the day people make moves because of WHO they are not WHAT the market is doing.