Bigger Bids Aren’t Always Better Bids:
Bidding wars among would-be home buyers, once a rarity, seem to have become almost routine this frenzied spring. But even now, it’s not all about money, money, money.What both buyers and sellers should understand is that the highest offer is not necessarily the strongest. There are many other terms in a contract that can come into play. Understanding how all these items relate is critical to putting together a successful bid, or choosing the strongest offer.

This WP article is very good in many respects and very worth reading. While not agreeing with it in the entirety, the following is one of the points with which I have the most issue –

A buyer should never write an offer that has a 100 percent chance of being accepted because that means the buyer is overpaying. By establishing a reasonable price range before determining what to offer, buyers can remain rational.
This is an unreasonable statement. If a ready, willing and able buyer is willing to spend $15k more than his or her competition to purchase a house for the family, and stay in the house for a number of years, then that buyer is not overpaying. I advise all my clients not to consider as the #1 factor what the competition may be offering; the buyer must set the price.
By the way, I wrote about this matter a little while ago.