Bidding Theory

In today’s highly competitive housing market, you may be wondering the best route to take when making an offer on a property. With home selling in days- or sometimes even just a matter of hours- how you bid on a home can make the difference between your offer being accepted or missing out entirely. It’s important to ask what the seller is looking for! If a seller is anticipating a bidding war, they may ask for “highest and best,” or “best and final”. Here’s the difference! 

Highest And Best

When you see the term “highest and best,” the seller is almost expecting buyers to be pitted against one another. They want to know the highest you’re willing to go in order to purchase that home and, odds are, it’s a sign they’re going to go with the ‘best’ offer. (Unread: highest.) 

Best And Final

When the phrase “best and final” is used, you can expect that there will be little to no room for haggling. The seller is interested in moving their property as fast as possible and is simply not interested in going back and forth. They just want all the cards on the table at the start, which is why you’ll also typically see this type of request when selling an as-is property. 

Realtor.com has some interesting strategies on how best to approach both types of bids. You can read more about those strategies here! Or, of course, you can always speak with a dedicated Real Estate professional and have them answer any questions you may have. It’s most important to know, though, that the home buying and selling process tends to be fairly black and white. If your offer isn’t accepted, don’t take it personally and try again!