Some clients asked me this question a few weeks ago...

...and we had a good laugh after we started thinking and talking about it.

As I told them:  Reasonable offers don't buy houses in this market!?

Indeed, it's that kind of market these days.

It used to be that we'd look at what other buyers recently paid and then extrapolate from there as to what would be a reasonable offer to make on a house.

If similar houses recently sold for $265K and $270K and $275K -- it would be reasonable to pay between $270K and $280K for that newly listed house down the street, right?

Ha ha.  Maybe in some long forgotten time when the market felt more normal or balanced or sane.

These days...

If other buyers recently paid $265K and $270K and $275K for similar houses, a seller wouldn't be surprised to receive offers with escalation clauses going up to $290K or $300K or even $310K.

As such, we need to think about your offer price not only within the context of what other buyers recently paid for similar houses.

Is it reasonable to pay 5% to 10% more than other recent buyers have paid for similar houses?

Maybe... maybe not...

But it's likely the only way you'll be able to actually secure a contract on a house!