My clients wanted to offer $10K under asking. There was a competing offer. Here's what I told them.

I recently helped clients buy a place in Hamilton. The original plan was Milton, to stay close to Mississauga, but the budget and the wish list weren't going to meet there. So we looked at Hamilton, and there are some good pockets. Upper Mountain, Stoney Creek, Binbrook.

They found the one. We were going back and forth with the listing agent, and then word came in. There's another offer on the table.

Here's a rough rule of thumb I've seen play out over and over. With two offers, a home usually sells close to asking. With three or more, it often goes over, sometimes five percent or so depending on how hot the other offers are.

My clients wanted to go ten thousand under asking. Then they asked what I'd advise.

I told them to use the higher number they were already considering. And I want to explain why, because I know exactly how that sounds coming from a realtor.

Let's do the math on what that extra ten thousand pays me. My side of the commission on $10,000 is a couple hundred bucks, before splits and taxes. Nobody's lifestyle changes on that. If I were in this to squeeze clients, this would be the dumbest possible way to do it.

Here's the actual reason. If you're qualified for the higher amount, you can afford it, and this is the home you want to live in, then losing it over ten thousand dollars is the real loss.

And I've been doing this long enough to know who gets blamed when that happens. You were ten grand short, you had the ten grand, and your agent didn't tell you to use it. That conversation lands on me, and it should.

The one exception is if you're planning to flip in a few years. Then every dollar matters differently. But that's not who I work with. My clients buy homes to live in them.

So they went in with their stronger number. We got the home. Now we wait for closing.

Three things I'd want you to take from this

1. In competing offers, know the shape of the game. Two offers usually lands near asking. Three or more usually goes over. It's not a law, but walking in without knowing this is walking in blind.

2. The question isn't the other buyer's number. It's your own ceiling. Decide the most you can pay and still sleep well before offer night. Then the only decision left is whether this home is worth your number.

3. Here's what that "extra" $10K actually pays your agent. Buyer's side is usually 2.5%, so $250. Then the brokerage split, then taxes. Maybe a hundred bucks lands in my pocket. Nobody is pushing you higher for a hundred dollars.

I'm not going to pretend the industry hasn't earned its reputation. Plenty of agents want the fastest close at the biggest number because that's their cheque. My number was never the point here. It was the difference between my clients getting their home and watching someone else get the keys. They got the home. That was the whole job.