In a balanced or slightly competitive real estate market, it can be tempting to try to negotiate a lower price on a home -- especially if it's been on the market for a few weeks. But sometimes, pushing too hard on price can backfire... and can cost you the home entirely.

Let's walk through a real-world example (with fictional numbers) to illustrate how this can happen.

Imagine there's a house listed for $450,000. It's been on the market for two weeks, and you love it. You can afford up to $440,000 -- but decide to start lower because you hope the seller will be flexible on price after sitting on the market for a few weeks. So, you offer $425,000.

The seller counters at $445,000, still feeling confident in their asking price. You respond at $435,000, hoping to meet somewhere in the middle.

But during this back-and-forth, a few days pass -- and the seller receives another offer. You quickly jump to $440,000 (your max), but it's too late. The seller has already accepted the other offer.

A month later, when the house goes to closing, you see that the house sold for $442,000. In hindsight, you might have been able to stretch to that number. But more importantly, had you started with your strongest offer -- say, $440,000 -- you might have secured the home before the other buyer entered the picture.

Of course, we can't know how it would have played out for sure. But it's a good reminder that sometimes trying to "win" through negotiations can sometimes mean losing the house you love altogether.

In today's market, a timely and competitive offer often puts you in a better position than a lower offer then followed by several rounds of negotiation.