A Real Estate Bidding War...Is it a Thing?

Multiple Offers VS a Bidding war

Buying a home can be both exciting and challenging.

Prices have gone up, mortgage rates are down, and finding and buying just the right home has become a little more challenging. Inventory is light and buying pressure is high, but people just like you are buying and selling homes every day..

There's a joke going around right now:

Question: "How is the market?"

Agent:  "Do you remember last April when you were looking for toilet paper?
             Kind of like that." 

As a Buyer,  Preparation is mandatory in this market.  You need to be able to jump when the right house comes along. Know How? 

By being fully pre-approved with your Mortgage Advisor and having your deposit ready and available.

The current reality is that a home for sale often generates offers from more than one buyer. In fact, sometimes a seller will list their home for significantly less than it’s worth in hopes of creating multiple offers. Listing with a lower price increases interest in the house and can better the odds that multiple people will fall in love with it.

When this happens the listing realtor will usually have a predetermined time for presentation of offers and will present all of the offers in hand to the seller at the same time. Obviously, the best offer wins.  

Contrary to popular belief there is usually no actual bidding, each buyer has been informed to put in their best offer first, as there will usually be only the one opportunity to present an offer.

If all of the offers are too low, they may ask all of the buyers to make higher offers. Again, the best offer will then win. But "best" is in the eye of the beholder. 

Sometimes it isn't the highest offer that actually wins. It may be that the dates line up better, or the deposit is stronger, or the subjects are more amenable.  Whatever it is, staying flexible and being pre-qualified offers the best possibility of winning.