Looking again

I let the apartment go. I bid up to my limit, and the realtor said the seller was standing firm and that there were others about to make offers higher than mine. If I matched the seller's asking price I would lock it in, otherwise, the other potential buyers might drive it up in a bidding war. I said that obviously that would be great for the seller, but that I wasn't going to go any higher, so best of luck to all of them. Call me if the other offers don't materialize.

It wasn't so much calling her bluff as refusing to engage in the dance. If I met the seller's price and then she came back and said, oh, another bid came in, just $5K more and you're in, I'd feel like I had gone that far, and well, why not? Which is just the way to get sucked in to doing what you don't want to do. I don't stay away from gambling for nothing - I can see myself just playing "one more time" over and over.

I don't buy lottery tickets either, but that's because the odds are so bad.

Seriously, though, I don't think that in this real estate market, buying something at a price higher than you feel comfortable with is a good idea. Even in NYC.