The Alchemy Behind a Winning Bid

Home sellers do not always go for the highest offer in a bidding war. Redfin analyzed more than 10,000 competitive offers that its agents wrote last year, finding that 44 percent of the winning bids were all cash. Another good way to come out on top when a competition ensues is to conduct an inspection before submitting an offer, which the national real-estate brokerage found occurred for 42 percent of winning bids. Also, 40 percent of winning offers waived the financing contingency for the purchase. Such strategies are not new, but they tend to vary in popularity based on market trends and region. “Usually sellers go with the highest offer,” acknowledges Ginger Shukrun, associate broker with Town Residential. “But in the past year or so [as the market tightened] they really are looking at the whole deal.” | Read More