We consider the role that seller motivation plays in determining selling ti
me, list price and sale price. A new survey of home sellers suggests that s
ellers are heterogeneous in their motivation to sell. Our findings are that
a seller who, at the time of listing, has a planned date to move sells mor
e quickly than one who does not. Also, the shorter the planned lime until a
move at the time of listing. the shorter the actual duration of marketing
time. We find that seller motivation affects sale price, but not the list-p
rice markup. Our results suggest that theoretical models of the housing sea
rch process should be recast to allow for heterogeneous sellers.