Finding the right property is exciting. Finding out that three other buyers want it too? Maybe a little less exciting.

Multiple-offer situations are fairly common in New Hampshire real estate, but one of the biggest misconceptions buyers have is that there is a specific process the seller has to follow.

There really isn't.

When a seller receives multiple offers, they have several options. They might simply accept one of the offers already in front of them. They might tell everyone there are multiple offers and ask each buyer to submit their “highest and best.” They might negotiate with one buyer while keeping the others available. Or they may decide to wait and see whether additional offers come in.

The important thing for buyers to understand is this:

There is no “first come, first served” rule with real estate offers.

Submitting your offer first does not give you priority over an offer that arrives later. Until an offer has been accepted and a contract formed, the seller generally gets to decide which offer they want to pursue and how they want to handle the negotiation. New Hampshire REALTORS' guidance similarly notes that sellers may accept the offer they consider best, invite buyers to improve their offers, or negotiate with one buyer while other offers remain on the table.

Before We Talk Strategy, I Ask Buyers One Question

When I'm representing a buyer in a multiple-offer situation, one of the first things I want to understand is:

How badly do you want this particular property?

Not every multiple-offer situation should be handled the same way.

Maybe you like the house, but there are three others you would be equally happy buying. In that case, it may make sense to stay disciplined, make a reasonable offer, and be comfortable walking away.

But maybe you've been looking for six months and this is exactly what you've been waiting for. The location is right. The house is right. The price range works. You don't know when another one like it is going to come along.

That changes the conversation.

My job as a buyer's agent isn't to decide what a property is worth to you. It's to give you the information, explain the risks and options, and help you structure an offer based on your goals.

Highest and Best Isn't Always the Only Option

When sellers receive several offers, a common approach is to set a deadline and ask everyone for their highest and best offer.

At that point, buyers have a decision to make.

You can increase the purchase price. You can potentially strengthen other terms of the offer. Or you can leave your original offer exactly where it is.

And sometimes that's the right answer.

The goal shouldn't be to win every multiple-offer situation.

The goal should be to buy the right property at terms you're comfortable with.

When an Escalation Clause Can Make Sense

If a buyer tells me, “This is the one. I really don't want to lose it,” an escalation clause may be worth considering.

An escalation clause essentially says:

I'm offering $500,000, but if another legitimate offer comes in higher, I'm willing to beat that offer by a specified amount, up to my maximum price.

For example, a buyer might offer $500,000 and agree to beat a competing offer by $2,000, with a maximum purchase price of $525,000.

It allows the buyer to compete without immediately jumping all the way to their maximum price.

That doesn't mean escalation clauses are appropriate for every property or every buyer. The exact language and supporting documentation matter, and sellers can choose how they want to respond to them. But in the right situation, they're another tool available to buyers.

Stop Focusing So Much on the Asking Price

This may be the most important part of the entire conversation.

The listing price and the property's value are not necessarily the same thing.

Sometimes a property receiving immediate multiple offers was simply priced very well. And sometimes it may have intentionally been priced a little below where the market is likely to take it in order to generate attention and competition.

That's why I don't want buyers making decisions based solely on whether they're offering “over asking.”

Imagine a property is listed for $500,000, but after looking at comparable sales and the market, we believe it's realistically worth around $530,000.

You might end up buying it for $520,000.

Technically, you paid $20,000 over asking price.

But did you overpay?

Not necessarily.

If the property was worth approximately $530,000, you may have purchased it for $10,000 less than what the market supported.

That's why I tell buyers not to let the psychology of the asking price—or the ego of saying “I'm not paying $20,000 over asking” make the decision for them.

The better question is:

What do we believe the property is worth, and what is it worth to you?

Those are two different questions, and both matter.

Price Isn't the Only Part of an Offer

It's also important to remember that the highest-priced offer isn't automatically the offer a seller will choose.

Sellers may consider financing, deposits, inspection terms, closing dates, contingencies and the overall likelihood that the transaction will actually close.

That means a good buyer strategy isn't simply:

“How high should we go?”

It's:

“How do we make the strongest offer we're comfortable making?”

Sometimes that means price. Sometimes it means terms. Usually, it's a combination of both.

Decide What Losing Would Feel Like

Here's one of the simplest ways I help buyers think through a multiple-offer situation.

Imagine tomorrow morning I call you and say:

“They accepted another offer.”

What's your reaction?

If it's:

"That's fine. At that price, I'm glad somebody else bought it."

We've probably found your limit.

But if it's:

"Wait—they only paid $5,000 more than we offered? I absolutely would have paid that."

Then we probably didn't structure the offer around how much you actually wanted the property.

There's no perfect strategy that guarantees you'll win a multiple-offer situation. Even experienced buyer representatives can explain the options and advise based on prior experience, but no one can know with certainty how a particular seller will respond.

The objective is much simpler:

Understand the property. Understand the competition. Decide how badly you want it. Then make an offer you can live with either way.

That's usually the best place for a buyer to be when the phone rings the next morning.