4 ms·

I disagree. IMO, blind bidding is suppressing prices not inflating them. Here’s why, as someone who has been on the ground and lost a few offers because we did

I disagree. IMO, blind bidding is suppressing prices not inflating them. Here’s why, as someone who has been on the ground and lost a few offers because we didn’t want to overbid. After the sold price was released, on multiple occasions we thought “damn! we’d have our that and $25K on top to get it had we known”. In a blind bidding system, you bid what you think the house is worth. In an open bidding system you start to bud as much as you are able to afford.

techolic 5y ago
> you bid what you think the house is worth Except you're rarely sure how much it's worth. The market is fluid, the psychology is working on you, and the feedback takes too long that by the time you know how much you missed it's too late to learn much from it.
seandoe 5y ago
That doesn't make sense. If you really bid what it was worth to you, why were you disappointed that the house went for more because you would have paid it (and more)?
- 3qz 5y ago
  “what it’s worth” is just the maximum you can possibly afford when the alternative is never owning anything.
  - jejeyyy77 5y ago
    If your perspective is that people will sacrifice anything to own a home, then home prices are quite undervalued and have been for a long time.
    - 3qz 5y ago
      It’s kind of like how insulin is undervalued when there’s supply chain issues
alistairSH 5y ago
You say that, but the fact you didn't bid $25k+ initially tells us otherwise, no? Here in DC metro, people are massively over-bidding (relative to list price) because they've already bid/lost 5-10 homes in the last few months. So, they go in strong, $100-$150k over on a $600k list price isn't uncommon right now.
- TomVDB 5y ago
  Why this focus on list price? In a hot market with little supply, a list price is a marketing tool to get people into the door, and for a selling realtor to be able to brag about how good they are. That’s it. It has been like that for years. It doesn’t make sense to post a list price that is too high or accurate (unless you don’t want the hassle to deal with multiple bidders.) 1500 sqft houses in my formerly middle class SV neighborhood are listed at $2.5M and sell for $3.5M within a week. Everybody knows that this $2.5M is imaginary. If you want to know what a house will really sell for, just look at the sales of the past 2 months. It’s a much better indicator.
  - alistairSH 5y ago
    It's just a reference. A bids/closings so far over list is relatively new to this market; the last time we had anything similar was the lead up to the 2008 crash. More typically, a "$500k" house would list for $480 and close at $520 or maybe $550. Today, that same house is listing for $599 and closing at $700+. Not only have the prices gone up, but they've gone up fast enough that nobody really knows what a home is worth until it closes.
- jejeyyy77 5y ago
  Blind bidding leads to more conservative offers because noone wants to grossly overbid on a house. The ceiling is basically what you think is "fair". The seller will then make a decision with very little back and forth - generally they will give you one chance to "improve" your offer. Now, in an open bidding system, you are literally in competition for who can/is willing to pay the most for the home. The ceiling is what you can/willing to afford - back and forth with other bidders until literally the highest price is extracted.

techolic 5y ago

> you bid what you think the house is worth Except you're rarely sure how much it's worth. The market is fluid, the psychology is working on you, and the feedback takes too long that by the time you know how much you missed it's too late to learn much from it.

seandoe 5y ago

That doesn't make sense. If you really bid what it was worth to you, why were you disappointed that the house went for more because you would have paid it (and more)?

3qz 5y ago
“what it’s worth” is just the maximum you can possibly afford when the alternative is never owning anything.
- jejeyyy77 5y ago
  If your perspective is that people will sacrifice anything to own a home, then home prices are quite undervalued and have been for a long time.
  - 3qz 5y ago
    It’s kind of like how insulin is undervalued when there’s supply chain issues

alistairSH 5y ago

You say that, but the fact you didn't bid $25k+ initially tells us otherwise, no? Here in DC metro, people are massively over-bidding (relative to list price) because they've already bid/lost 5-10 homes in the last few months. So, they go in strong, $100-$150k over on a $600k list price isn't uncommon right now.

TomVDB 5y ago
Why this focus on list price? In a hot market with little supply, a list price is a marketing tool to get people into the door, and for a selling realtor to be able to brag about how good they are. That’s it. It has been like that for years. It doesn’t make sense to post a list price that is too high or accurate (unless you don’t want the hassle to deal with multiple bidders.) 1500 sqft houses in my formerly middle class SV neighborhood are listed at $2.5M and sell for $3.5M within a week. Everybody knows that this $2.5M is imaginary. If you want to know what a house will really sell for, just look at the sales of the past 2 months. It’s a much better indicator.
- alistairSH 5y ago
  It's just a reference. A bids/closings so far over list is relatively new to this market; the last time we had anything similar was the lead up to the 2008 crash. More typically, a "$500k" house would list for $480 and close at $520 or maybe $550. Today, that same house is listing for $599 and closing at $700+. Not only have the prices gone up, but they've gone up fast enough that nobody really knows what a home is worth until it closes.
jejeyyy77 5y ago
Blind bidding leads to more conservative offers because noone wants to grossly overbid on a house. The ceiling is basically what you think is "fair". The seller will then make a decision with very little back and forth - generally they will give you one chance to "improve" your offer. Now, in an open bidding system, you are literally in competition for who can/is willing to pay the most for the home. The ceiling is what you can/willing to afford - back and forth with other bidders until literally the highest price is extracted.