The most common reasons for an estate sale is the death of the property owner, and the consequent need to quickly liquidate the deceased's belongings for any number of reasons:

• The survivors/heirs may have no interest in the bulk of the personal belongings left by the deceased

• The survivors/heirs may simply lack space to keep the belongings

• The survivors/heirs cannot agree to the disposition of tangible property, and thus a court has ordered the goods to be sold, with the proceeds to be divided among the survivors (after payment of the estate's debts)

• The will of the deceased may have mandated a sale of assets, or the assets may have to be sold in order to pay all or part of the estate's debts

An estate sale may also occur because the property owner will be moving or has moved into a new residence where they will be unable to keep their property, such as an assisted living facility, a retirement community, a rest home, or the home of a family member.

An estate sale may also take place because of divorce, foreclosure, or relocation.