Why You Should Never Bid a Round Number
The Battle of the Zeros. Human brains are lazy. We like round numbers. If a house is worth roughly 5M, your opponent is likely to set their mental limit at exactly “5 Million.” Not 5.1. Not 4.9. 5.0. The +1 Strategy When the bidding gets close to a “Round Milestone” (e.g., 5M, 10M), anticipate that […]
The Battle of the Zeros. Human brains are lazy. We like round numbers. If a house is worth roughly 5M, your opponent is likely to set their mental limit at exactly “5 Million.” Not 5.1. Not 4.9. 5.0. The +1 Strategy When the bidding gets close to a “Round Milestone” (e.g., 5M, 10M), anticipate that your opponent will cap out there. Prepare a bid that is One Increment Above the round number. If the increment is 10k, and they bid 5.0M… do not hesitate. Immediately bid 5.01M . Breaking the Tie In sealed bidding (for those who still use it) or fast-paced hybrid scenarios, that extra 10k often wins the deal. You aren’t paying significantly more; you are just paying enough to beat their psychological ceiling. Be Exact Winners don’t bid 5M. They bid 5,010,000.
