The Call-back

The call back for .... more money. With the strong real estate market we've seen lately it's become a fairly common occurance (at least in my market) that when there are 2 or more competing offers that are the best offers, and are virtually the same, there is a call back from the listing agent to see if the buyers would like to increase their offer. One last chance to get the home they want and be done with this draining process of buying a home in a hot market. Now, on one hand I can see why we do this... ultimately it is our resposibility to represent the interests of our vendors and get them the best price and terms for their home. On the other hand it does seem to perpetuate the hectic and busy market that we have right now. The challenge that creates a lot of confusion for realtors is that some realtors practice this and some realtors don't. Should we be making a call back with the 2-3 best offers if they are close? It often is in the vendors best interest to do so. My suggestion is that if you are representing your buyers properly, it doesn't matter if the listing agents are going to give close offers a call back or not so long as you are aware before you submit an offer if that is going to be the case or if it is not.