Good afternoon. I was on Twitter this morning, and there was a story about a buyer who went to put an offer on a property. The property had been listed for about 60 days, which is a long time in this market. The price had been lowered on Friday, and they went to see it on Sunday. Their agent called the listing agent and asked if it was worth putting in an offer. The listing agent said there was another offer on the property.

Now, this is something that can happen, and it happens all the time, so it's not surprising. Anyway, the buyer wrote an offer and submitted it. Then, two days later, the listing agent calls back and asks if they can do better — if they can make a stronger offer. Why would they say that if there was already another offer on the property?

The buyer said, 'No, I’m not going to write a new offer.' A week later, the property was still on the market, and they were doing open houses. What does that mean? It means the listing agent lied. There wasn’t another offer on the property. If there was, and it was a decent offer, they would have made a decision when they called for 'highest and best.'

People often ask me, 'John, how do you know if there are really multiple offers?' It’s tough. I want to believe other agents. During the busy times, I wouldn't have believed it if someone told me there were 30 offers on a property — until I had a property with 30 offers on it. So, it happens, but in situations like this, you need to be cautious.

Here’s what you should do if you’re the buyer: work with your agent to figure out a price that you think is fair for the property. Put that offer in. If the seller accepts it, great. If they don’t, that’s fine too. But don’t get caught up chasing after a property. Stick to the price you’re willing to pay, and don’t worry about how many offers there are. That will stop this problem in its tracks.

I always find it strange when people say, 'highest and best.' Shouldn’t you be putting your best offer forward to begin with? There’s always something a little off about that.

Anyway, that’s what I have for you today. Hope you have a wonderful rest of your day, and I’ll catch you later