Ask Our Agent with Compass Real Estate Agent Karin Diana, Founder of The Home Collective
Grab Diana’s free worksheet that lays out the pros and cons to renovating or selling your home — with numbers! Email her Karin.Diana@compass.com.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Let the data lead your offer. Montclair buyers often lose out because they ignore the numbers. With average list-to-sale ratios ranging from 20–28% (and some homes going 50–70% over asking), crafting a competitive bid means trusting the data and working with a hyper-local agent who understands pricing behavior.
- Follow the “highest and best” rule. When sellers request your strongest offer by a set deadline, you only get one real shot. Coming back the next day with a higher number usually just benefits the already-accepted buyer and signals that you didn’t submit your true best the first time.
- Be prepared to feel uncomfortable. In a market as competitive as Montclair, ego and principle can cost you the house. If your offer feels comfortable, it’s probably not strong enough. Winning bids typically require stretching beyond your comfort zone.
In last week’s Ask Our Agent, we spoke with real estate agent Karin Diana to lay out the steps prospective Montclair home buyers should take into consideration before buying a house. This week’s segment will break down the the steps needed to successfully bid and win your Montclair dream home.
Look at the data (No, Really.)
Diana says the biggest mistake buyers make in Montclair’s ultra-competitive market is ignoring the numbers. “Some of the biggest mistakes or missteps when you are bidding in a highly competitive market like Montclair is not believing the data.”
She explains that buyers, especially when guided by an agent, need to ground their offers in those realities. “If you’re considering and informing yourself with the help of your agent, preferably a hyper-local agent, and you’re trying to decide on what a fair offer number is, and if 28% is the average list to sell, then you really have to consider a number much higher than 28%. It is not unusual to see houses, or at least in the past sell for anywhere from 50 to 70% above the asking price.”
She also notes that pricing strategy varies widely by listing agent, which is another reason to rely on local expertise. “The strategy of the listing agent is very specific and working with the hyper-local agent will allow you to have insight into the behavior of the listing agents themselves. Some agents believe in pricing closer to value and some believe in pricing grossly below value and it’s really important to understand the pricing behavior of a particular property.”
Ultimately, her advice is simple: “Look at the data and let the data guide your offer.”
Best and final should be…Best and Final
Diana says another common mistake is ignoring the seller’s instructions when they ask for your “highest and best offer”.
“Another misstep could be not adhering to the seller’s request for a highest and best offer. “When a seller’s agent puts out those offer guidelines with the deadline of Tuesday at 5:00 PM to bring in your very best offer package with the help of your agent and your offer does not get accepted.” While you can always try to come back with a higher offer the next day, it usually backfires.
“You cannot go back the next day with a higher number. Obviously, it’s legal. You are allowed to do that, but typically what happens when you go back after you’ve been denied, the buyer whose offer was accepted is given that first right of matching the number that you’ve come back with.”
In the end, she says, it only helps the original winning buyer and signals that you didn’t truly submit your best offer the first time. “Typically coming back the next day gets the seller more money through the first buyer that they’ve accepted the offer with. It also presents as though you haven’t followed the rule. You were given the opportunity to present your best, and obviously that wasn’t your best because now you’re coming back 24 hours later with another number.”
Check your ego at the door
Diana adds one final reminder for buyers navigating Montclair’s intense competition: check your ego at the door. “When you’re working and trying to buy a house in a highly competitive market, standing on principle and ego will often get in the way of your bid being won.”
She acknowledges how emotionally challenging these bidding environments can feel. “It’s very uncomfortable to manage bidding prices in a market like Montclair where it’s so highly competitive,” she says.
Her rule of thumb for clients is simple: if your offer feels easy, it’s probably not enough. “I often tell my buyers when we’re working through numbers, that if they’re comfortable with their offer number, they most likely will not get it. It has to be uncomfortable.”
A high-touch agent known for her extensive market expertise and her unmatched devotion to clients, Karin’s success is based almost exclusively on referrals. Specializing in residential real estate in the New Jersey suburbs of New York City, she makes the experience of buying or selling property simple by combining her keen instincts, impeccable client service, and attention to market trends. Throughout the process, Karin offers a common-sense approach with sharp negotiating skills honed over the past three decades. Work with Karin | karin.diana@compass.com
