bidding war
Competitive purchase escalation
A bidding war is a competition between buyers who successively raise their offers to acquire something—typically real estate or an auction item.
The dynamic escalates prices beyond initial expectations: Three families got into a bidding war over the house, pushing it $50,000 over asking.
The term extends to any competitive situation where parties outbid each other for talent, contracts, or resources.
- bidderOne who makes offers
- highest bidderWinner at auction
- auctioneerConducts public sales
- counterofferAlternative terms proposed back
- reserve priceMinimum acceptable bid
outbid · overbid · multiple offers · hammer price · leverage · Dutch auction · gazumping · scarcity · escalation · feeding frenzy · herd mentality · supply and demand · seller's market · negotiation table · stakes · losing · walk away · real estate
- competitioncompete, competitor, contender, winner, sports
- auctionsauction, bidding, auctioneer, auction house, auction houses
- business termsfranchising, revenue stream, board meeting, gross margin, markdown
- Bidscounterbid, outbid, overbid, underbid, highest bidder
- movingmoving, moving truck, move out, move in, movers
- housing trendshousing bubble, housing shortage, affordable housing, gentrification, suburbanization
bidding warfixed price
Predetermined, unvarying cost
set price · sticker price · list price · asking price · retail price
bidding warbuyer's market
Conditions favoring purchasers
distressed sale · fire sale · distress sale · liquidation · price collapse