Buying a Home: Should You Stress About Multiple Offers? [Updated for 2023]

Months of searching, attending open houses, reading articles about if you should buy a home, picking a lender, and viewing available homes finally paid off. You’ve found the perfect property in a nice neighborhood for a fair price. You’re ready to make an offer. Then it happens: you get the dreaded call from your agent telling you there are multiple offers on the property. For both first-time buyers and those who are experienced, the phrases "highest and best" and "multiple offers" can cause anxiety. So now what?

Reasons for Multiple Offers

Inventory shifts continuously.

That means at any given moment, fewer houses on the market put the home you want on more buyers’ radars. Even a house they overlooked a month ago might interest them today.

Buyers are in the same situation as you. 

If you chose to wait until the end of summer, or after the holidays for family reasons, the chances are high that a bunch of other folks did as well. If you’re an empty-nester and waited for fall to start looking, so did other buyers in similar life situations. The typical seasonality of the housing market is changing; we're seeing an extended buying season.

New listings hit the market.

Buyers that have lost out to multiple offers in the past now know better than to “sleep on it” when they see a new house available that fits their needs. The typical multiple-offer scenario happens within the first week of a listing reaching the market. This is true particularly if the home is priced right, has curb appeal, and desired upgrades or renovations in a preferred area.

What You Can Do

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There are a few ways to ensure you're competitive when it comes to multiple offer situations.

Ask about multiple offers.

Let your agent know that this particular home is your top choice. Your agent can let the listing agent know of your interest and ask if there are other offers on the table. Chances are that you won't know exactly what those other offers are, but you can at least be prepared to go in with your strongest offer.

Present your highest and best offer.

In many cases where a home is receiving lots of interest, the listing agent will ask for "highest and best" offers, meaning that you should offer the maximum price that you're willing to pay for the home.

Consider other options with your offer.

You may have a stronger offer if you change the type of financing, increase your offer price, decrease or eliminate seller-paid concessions, or a combination of these. You may even consider an escalation clause. Our agents will go over all the options to help make the offer more attractive.

Multiple offer situations don't have to be a headache for buyers. Our agents are skilled in negotiations and have some tips and tricks that can give you more leverage when making offers in a competitive market. Contact us to talk with one of our agents today.