Win now, decide later: More buyers bid on pads they don’t want

From the August issue: Call it a buyer’s security blanket. Frustrated by a lack of inventory on the market in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, and, perhaps, burned by one-too-many losses, some buyers are bidding on apartments that they’re not entirely sure they even want. The idea: Win now, decide later.

It’s not until an offer is actually accepted that these buyers are taking a good hard look at the fought-over property. At that point, some are deciding that the home is not a good fit for them, while others are getting scared off by the very fact that they’ve won a bidding war and therefore might be overpaying. [more]