For more than two decades, a sales executive worked for Aetna, the Connecticut-based managed care company. She took a buyout after CVS Health bought out Aetna in 2018.

Now 62, the divorced executive feels a sense of urgency about fulfilling her bucket list. High on the list is her desire to downsize from the spacious Gothic-style house she owns in the prestigious suburb of West Hartford.

“The time is totally right for me to make my big move. My plan is to sell a house that’s way too big for me and move to an apartment in Lisbon, Portugal. That will be my base, and I’ll travel all over Europe from there,” she says.

Luckily for the woman, Hartford remains one of the most in-demand housing markets in the United States, according to Mischa Fisher, chief economist for Zillow, the major real estate company.

He says Hartford is a metro area where attractive homes are expected to remain in short supply and prices are continuing to rise as the spring market approaches.

“Competition among buyers will be stiff, and sellers will have the upper hand in this year’s hottest markets. Shoppers will need to tap all the resources they can muster,” Fisher says.

But given her long tenure in the Gothic house, the retired executive must confront a radical downsizing process to make her property worthy of showings for the buying public.

“I admit to being a terrible pack rat, so realistically it will take weeks to unload all my excess possessions,” the woman says.

Years ago, she was inspired to downsize by a book written by Dave Bruno -- a marketing expert and key figure in the so-called voluntary simplicity movement -- titled “The 100 Thing Challenge: How I Got Rid of Almost Everything, Remade My Life, and Regained My Soul.”

During his downsizing campaign, Bruno, who now runs a small marketing firm specializing in digital media, pared his personal possessions down from 300 to just 100 and has kept that level for several years.

With less energy spent managing a spacious and crowded house, Bruno says he was able to sharpen his focus on higher priorities, including his family, friends and writing. Happy with the results of his challenge, he convinced his wife and children that downsizing the family’s housing would also yield significant quality-of-life improvements.

“By moving to a smaller place, we have more time to relax and enjoy family time. We’re living below our means and saving for our kids’ college funds,” Bruno says.

He adds: “In the United States we buy things -- even big houses -- in pursuit of contentment. But by endlessly acquiring the right things, I believe we measure our distance from the good life. We are always getting, but never getting there.”

To be sure, many Americans of all ages still favor large houses and are especially likely to seek more space as their young families grow. Even so, inventory-tight neighborhoods are now beginning to witness a gradual increase in supply, with some of the newly listed properties sold by downsizers.

Here are a few pointers for downsizing owners:

-- Realize that a smaller lifestyle can take many forms.

As a downsizing seller, your vision could be to stay in the same suburban community, though with a smaller and less financially demanding home. Alternatively, you could choose to leave suburbia and reinvent your life in an urban loft or a rustic rural cottage.

“There isn’t one right lifestyle of simplicity; it’s all individual. Your goal could be to get closer to nature, more involved in civic life or more involved in spirituality. To create your dream, focus on what gives your life juice,” Bruno says.

Though many view downsizing as a form of sacrifice, he says it can lead to greater richness.

“We need to ask whether the pressure of payments on a big house is worth it,” he says.

-- Begin with small victories in your quest to live more compactly.

Even before you put your current property up for sale and begin searching for the right smaller place to buy, Bruno suggests you begin a methodical process of whittling down your accumulations to contain your material life.

“Start in your bedroom closet. We all have too many clothes, and this is one area where you can score an early victory against clutter,” Bruno says.

He found it relatively easy to reduce the size of his wardrobe without consequences and says others could experience this as well.

“As you go through your clothes, select a unique outfit for every day in a two-week period. Put your extra clothes in storage for two months and see if you even miss them,” Bruno says.

After that, look for other satisfying victories by sifting through your “junk drawers” one at a time. Next, head to your garage for a purging.

-- Allow yourself adequate time to make the transition.

Bruno cautions homeowners that the process of downsizing, from the day you make the decision to move to the day you close on the purchase of a smaller property, can be time-consuming.

“You need to allow yourself plenty of time to make this transition and especially to sort through all your things. It took years to accumulate all that stuff, so you’re not going to clear through all of it overnight,” he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

A robotics engineer in Rockford, Illinois, was pleased to receive an unsolicited job offer with an aerospace firm in his midsized city outside Chicago. Not only will the position keep him near family and friends, but it will double his current salary.

Because of the new job, the engineer and his wife, a stay-at-home mom, plan to trade up from their current 2,100-square-foot house in Rockford to one with nearly 5,000 square feet of living space and two more bedrooms in an upscale Rockford neighborhood.

“We need a bigger house because we already have three kids and want two more. But to make this big move without risk, we’re determined to unload our current house first,” the engineer says.

The couple, both in their early 30s, don’t anticipate any issues selling their three-bedroom brick colonial in Rockford. That’s because Rockford has a fast-paced real estate market with rising home prices and a shortage of inventory.

Indeed, Zillow ranks Rockford as 2025’s “most popular city for home shoppers,” according to economists for the national real estate firm. Like other U.S. metro areas ranked in the top 10, Rockford offers affordable middle-income housing, growing job access and more spacious properties for the money. (Zillow rates housing markets based on, among other things, page-view traffic on its website, home-value growth and how quickly properties go from listings to closed deals.)

Even though there’s lots of buzz about the strong seller’s market in Rockford, the engineer and his wife don’t want to take any chances on obtaining a firm contract on their current house before they commit to a pricier one. That approach is one favored by Mark Nash, a real estate analyst and the author of “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home.”

“As trade-up buyers, you weaken your leverage tremendously if you try to purchase a better property before you sell your current one. Those who own a prime property don’t want to make its sale conditional on the buyer’s own sale. That’s just needless pressure,” Nash says.

Here are a few pointers for sellers in all types of markets:

-- Realize that sellers who ask too much often get too little.

Kathy Zimmermann, the broker-owner of a Re/Max real estate office in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, says accurate pricing can be complicated in a neighborhood like the engineer’s, where properties vary widely in style and size.

Accurate pricing is complicated, especially in areas where property valuations are in flux. In such neighborhoods, an examination of recent sales of similar homes -- what are known as “comps” -- may not give you obvious answers about how much to ask.

But accurate pricing is even more important at a time when buyers are increasingly fearful that they’ll overpay.

Zimmermann says sellers who live in a popular area should be particularly wary of overpricing, which can easily result in a home becoming shopworn and sitting unsold until sacrificial price cuts are taken.

-- Acknowledge that open houses don’t always guarantee results.

Many sellers of high-end homes that show well think of open houses as a panacea for any marketing woes they face.

But real estate specialists, such as Dorcas Helfant, a former president of the National Association of Realtors, says public open houses provide little utility for sellers.

She says open houses rarely attract serious, well-qualified purchasers. Many who attend open houses are neighbors or those seeking decorating ideas for their own homes, while others are mere wannabe buyers.

Rather than pressing your agent to hold more open houses, Helfant says you should consider asking for an “office caravan” to gain pointers on making your property more saleable. During such an event, many members of the sales force at the listing agent’s office come over to critique the home and offer suggestions for minor upgrades.

“OK, so you may have done everything your listing agent advised when your home first hit the market. But the other agents can still give you additional perspectives. The more eyes you put on the house, the better,” she says.

-- Channel your nervous energy into a cleaning campaign.

Zimmermann, a veteran in the real estate field since 1983, says that in recent years she’s observed a gradual decline in the cleanliness of properties shown for sale. All too often, she says, dual-income couples with busy schedules lack the time to keep a home as clean as their parents’ generation did. Ironically, contemporary buyers hanker more than ever to own a spotless, well-kept place where they can get a fresh start.

Anxious owners who fear their homes won’t sell would do well to direct some of their nervous energy into an old-fashioned cleaning blitz that covers every inch of their place.

Showing a home in sparkling condition can give you a competitive edge over less tidy people trying to sell in the same neighborhood.

“Anyone who puts an immaculate house on the market should come out ahead,” Zimmermann says.

-- Refrain from the urge to pressure your listing agent.

Putting a lot of pressure on your listing agent may seem to help, but it can easily backfire if the agent begins to resent your persistent inquiries. Some agents may even drop clients who deal with their frustration by making excessive demands in an overly aggressive way.

“It’s not unusual to hear about agents terminating listing agreements if the homeowners fail to cooperate. You’re entitled to regular updates, but pestering your agent makes no sense,” Zimmermann says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

A 32-year-old dental hygienist and her retired mother are together looking for a detached, single-family home in a quiet, well-kept Detroit suburb. With no children in the household, they don’t need a huge property. But they wish for a quiet, calm neighborhood with lots of character.

“We’re attracted to the Ford Homes Historic District. It has charming old houses and very few through streets. This community feels very welcoming, and that’s important for us,” says the hygienist.

The enclave, built beginning in the 1920s and designed by the Ford Motor Company to house workers, offers a mix of vintage cottages and Tudors, though property turnovers there are relatively rare.

“It’s OK if we have to wait for the perfectly right house to come on the market. All we’re looking for is a place in good condition with an interesting history,” the hygienist says.

Both mother and daughter, who intend to share the monthly mortgage payments, are convinced they can find an affordable house in the neighborhood, where median prices range from $275,000 to $400,000.

Amanda Pendleton, a home trends specialist for Zillow, the national real estate company, says that in the wake of the pandemic, many home buyers began rethinking their priorities.

Pendleton says 2025 has been the year when “people stopped searching for more home and started searching for more meaning at home. Across the country, buyers want homes that can flex for family, offer access to nature and deliver daily comforts that make life feel easier and more joyful.”

Zillow did a systematic review of the search terms used by buyers as they screen online home listings.

She says comfort edged out luxury, with less interest in terms connoting high-end living, including “mansion,” “luxury” and “acreage.” Attracting more interest were properties with fireplaces, garden space and fenced yards.

Meanwhile, many buyers favored listings for homes that felt safe, including gated communities. Also, an increasing number of buyers are seeking property close to water.

Doro Kiley, a Virginia-based life coach who helps clients craft their lifestyle plans, doesn’t know the dental hygienist and her mother in this true story. But she urges anyone in their position to imagine their ideal home and setting well ahead of launching their home search.

“Having a mental picture of your ideal is a great place to start. You can always pare your list of features as your house hunt progresses,” Kiley says.

Here are a few pointers for buyers:

-- Put your priorities into prose.

Those who are planning to buy property with another adult often differ on ideal housing choices. That’s why Kiley says it’s helpful for both to write down their respective visions and then seek to shape them into a single statement.

Written statements help people clarify their thinking and refine the details of their plans as they move through successive drafts. Such statements also help buyers reconcile differing views.

-- Weigh issues related to commuting times.

Mark Nash, a longtime housing analyst, says one of the most agonizing tradeoffs many families face is between a newer house with a longer commute and an older property closer to the workplace of one or both buyers.

Buyers who consider an outer-tier suburb are often driven by the desire for what they perceive to be better schools.

But before you opt for a distant suburb, Nash strongly recommends you do morning and afternoon rush hour test drives. This way, you’ll know more precisely what sort of traffic to expect if you buy there.

Nash says buyers should disabuse themselves of the notion that the current level of traffic congestion on their path will remain static. The odds are that the traffic will worsen as the years go on.

-- Don’t assume that a big yard is essential.

Many people with young children hang on tightly to the hope that their offspring will have a large backyard where they can frolic. This aspiration can influence them to pick an outlying suburb at the expense of their convenience and commuting time.

But are the tradeoffs necessary to acquire a large piece of land worth it? Not necessarily, says Nash, noting that today’s children often spend much more time in organized athletic and recreational activities than did their parents.

“In many cases, the era of ‘free range’ children is behind us. Many more kids have tight after-school sports schedules during the school year and highly organized camps during the summer,” he says.

-- Allow yourself the ease of an unhurried home search.

During the pandemic, those seeking to own in a popular neighborhood faced intense competition. They felt pressured to act quickly, lest they lose out to a rival. Because of that, many buyers took regrettable shortcuts -- often rushing into a purchase without analyzing whether the property they purchased truly matched their lifestyle.

But given that there are now very few highly competitive seller’s markets, buyers can slow down the process without fear of losing out.

“Don’t let salespeople hype you into a premature home commitment. There’s far too much at stake,” Nash says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)