Home Isn’t a Place—It’s a Feeling

I help people buy and sell houses. My 5-year-old, who has tagged along to many listings over the years, loves to “help” me—especially when it involves trash duty. But recently, I realized he doesn’t quite understand what I do. To him, a house is just a place we visit. He asks if we can go back to the “selling house,” and when I tell him someone else lives there now, I can see his little mind trying to process it.

It got me thinking. Some realtors see houses as commodities—assets with market value. They’re not wrong. But what makes my job special is understanding that a house is not the same as a home. I first realized this long before I got into real estate. After my mom passed away, the attachment I once had to our family home faded. Without her, it was just a house.

*Me in front of the ‘old’ house when it came up for sale last year…*

Last year, that same house went up for sale. I took my family for a quick tour, curious about what emotions might surface—especially since my mom passed away there. But walking through, I felt... nothing. I remembered movie nights with sleeping bags on the floor, 4th of July pool parties, late-night dance parties, and driveway basketball games with my stepdad. The memories were vivid, but the feeling of home was gone. Because home isn’t a physical space—it’s the people who make it matter.

My son doesn’t fully understand how lucky he is—to have a home, his own room, and to grow up in San Diego, of all places. But one day, he will. And as he ventures out into the world, I hope he realizes what I now know: home isn’t where you live, it’s where you feel most yourself. And as long as we’re together, we can take home anywhere.

Cheers to more adventures, this year and beyond.