As in life, there are things that we want in our next house and things that we need.  The ‘need’ makes life more comfortable in the present.  The ‘want’ is a goal we would like to acheive someday.  Needs and wants change as our lifestyles and conditions change.  They are two separate things and are two separate lists when looking for a house.  On the need list I expect to see things like the number of bedrooms, baths, location and garage space.  The items on the need and want lists are interchangeable.  You can add any item on either list because the need is a “must-have” and a want is a “nice-to-have” – it’s the goal. 
The challenge for buyers is to look at the two lists separately and not together.  When we have too many wants on the needs list, we start creating a dream house.  Every needs list has a dream house.  A dream house is a house that is universally appealing to many needs lists, but is also touches on 2 or more items that are on the wants list.  Examples of a dream house may include a 3-car garage on a golf course, a lake front home with nice outdoor kitchen and boat dock or a 5 bedroom house with horses allowed.

What all of these dream houses have in common is that they are scarce.  My challenge is often that buyers don’t always believe they are looking at a dream house. I never know when the ideal house is going to come up for someone.  Buyers and houses enter and exit the market constantly.  When a house is only 7 days old on the market and it’s a dream house, buyers often think they can wait. 

Remember a dream house is always going to show up in someone elses dream, so there is no telling when the next buyers are going to see it.  When buyers lose a dream house it can become very discouraging, but often need to go through the experience.  The next time my buyer won’t wait for another buyer to purchase their house.  All houses sell in their own given time.  It could be day 7 or day 150.  If a buyer sees their dream house on day 150 – it’s new to them!
I often find it a helpful exercise to show buyers the difference in inventory between their wants list versus their needs list.  A buyer may easily start with 35 homes that meet their needs criteria, but when I add a golf course view – we wind up with 5.
Remember our goals change in the future as life has a habit of changing.  Buying a new home is a dream in itself. Sticking to the present and what you need now will help keep that dream a reality.