So, you've been planning a home purchase in neighborhood X, Y or Z sometime over the next few months.

Thus, you've been monitoring sales prices...

You're starting to see a pattern in this (totally unrealistic) market subset (where almost all homes are identical)...

All the homes are selling for between $600K and $620K.

Nice, you can afford that, though you'd love to pay a bit less.

And then... another home comes on the market for $575K.

Wow!  This is great, but you're not ready to buy yet.  A few weeks go by.  Another few weeks.  The $575K house is still available, though it is also the only house on the market in the neighborhoods in question.

You're starting to wonder if the market has reset in some way, and if all homes will now be priced around $575K instead of $600K to $620K.

Then, just as you're getting ready to consider an offer... the $575K house goes under contract.  Darn!

Two weeks later... when you're still ready to buy...three houses come on the market, in the neighborhoods of interest, priced at $605K, $610K and $620K.

So... what do you do?

Do you offer $575K on one of the houses, and if that offer is rejected, do so on the second, and then on the third?  Do you insist that you will now only pay $575K for a house because of "the one" that was available at that price?

You can... but if a seller isn't willing to go along with that narrative, it might be a long wait before you are buying a house.

Just because a great price (compared to other recent sales prices) is available on one house... that doesn't mean it will continue to be available on future listings if that one house goes under contract.

So, if it's a great price, you might want to go ahead and move forward with purchasing the great house at the great price.