More home buyers are finding they’re losing their power position in the real estate market and that when they submit an offer for a home, they may not be alone in the bidding. In fact, buyers who submit low offers may not even get a courtesy of a callback nowadays.
One Florida couple says they put in seven offers on homes over two months — most at or above asking price — before they were finally able to get a $365,000 Sarasota home.
A drop in the inventory of for-sale homes around the country is prompting more competition among home buyers. Inventory in June is 24 percent below year-ago levels.
"I've had listings get 45 offers," Sin-Yi Chao Lambertson, a real estate broker in Glendora, Calif., told Money Magazine.
Money Magazine recently offered potential buyers the following tips if they want to get the winning bid on a home:

• Get pre-approved, not prequalified: Pre-approval for a loan based on a buyer's credit, income, and assets is viewed as better than getting pre-qualified, which is just an estimate of how much that buyer may be able to borrow.  
• Find an experienced REALTOR®: Money Magazine advised home buyers to find a real estate professional who knows how to handle multiple-offer situations and can advise how much to offer and help buyers determine if they’re getting a home at a fair price. 
• Watch the contingencies: “The best offer isn't always the one with the best price," says George Miller, a Sarasota, Fla., real estate agent. Buyers who put in too many contingencies with their offer may lose out. 

Source: “Winning in a Seller's Housing Market,” Money Magazine (Sept. 12, 2012)