I’m a first time homebuyer, so apologies if I’m not the most informed. But hence my post. I’m looking to buy in a suburban area that’s a bit below the National average and maybe a bit less competitive as well. I found a single family ranch house I’d like to place an offer on, listed at $220K. Only listed 3 days ago, seller is only taking offers until tomorrow evening so a short window. The buying agent I am working with has told me “we will need to escalate the offer” – by starting $10K over asking price and be willing to in $1K increment bids up to $30K over asking. Also, they have said to consider $5,000 for an appraisal gap. I know that this is happening in the market considerably these days and it’s not the first I’ve heard of it, but I’ve talked with friends and colleagues and they’ve told me they’ve been able to buy homes without resorting to these tactics – my parents have told me they’ve never heard of such things, but the last home they bought was ~30 years ago so it was a completely different market and era.Does my buying agent sound like she’s making sense to you? I find it hard to believe this listing would be that competitive, as it’s only been on the market for 3 days and offers are closing tomorrow. I didn’t see anyone at the open house I went to either. Am I getting gamed for being an inexperienced homebuyer, or is this just the way things are?TL;DR: First time homebuyer, buying agent is recommending offering between $10K-$30K above asking price (which is $220K) and $5K for appraisal gap. I don’t feel the house is worth this much and feel it’s way more than is necessary to offer – am I getting played or do I just not fully understand the competitiveness of the market right now?
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