If you are preparing to list your home for sale, you may be thinking about listing your home low in the hopes of starting a bidding war. When your home is listed low, you may get multiple offers and from there, you or your real estate agent can ask buyers to bid against the other or bring their best and final offers, helping you to hopefully maximize the amount of money you can get for your home. However, bidding wars are not right in every situation. Here are three surprising reasons why you may want to avoid bidding wars all together as a seller. 

More Buyers Are Avoiding Low-Priced Homes

One of the reasons you may want to avoid pricing your home low in hopes of starting a bidding war is because buyers are wising up to this strategy. Many buyers, especially first-time buyers or those who have been burned in a past bidding war, are starting to avoid homes that are priced low just to avoid bidding wars. If people start avoiding your home, it can make it sit on the market for longer or take it longer to sell. 

You May Not Get Multiple Bids

Another reason why you may want to avoid a bidding war for your home is because the strategy doesn't always pay off. In some markets, there simply are not enough buyers out there to get multiple bids quickly. If your local market is slow, you may not get multiple bids. Unfortunately, it can be hard to convince a buyer to pay more for a home than what it is listed at, especially without other buyers, so you may be put in a tough spot of getting less than your home is worth. 

The Bids You Get May Not Be as High As You Wanted

The last reason why you may want to avoid a bidding war when selling your home is because the bids you get may not be as high as you want. A lot of home buyers are hesitant to offer more on a home than what it is priced at. After all, would you go to the grocery store and pay more than the price tag? Because of this, many people involved in bidding wars only bid conservatively. This may result in the bids not getting as high as you wanted. Setting your home at a realistic price right from the get-go may actually yield you a higher price. 

In some markets, bidding wars are expected and are the best way to help you maximize the amount of money you can get for your home. In other markets, there is too much risk with pricing your home low and hoping it triggers a bidding war. A great real estate agent can let you know what the best option is in your neighborhood and why. If you are looking to sell your home quickly and have a specific amount in mind you want to get, avoiding a bidding war may be your best option.