Seems like an idea that’s overdue, but you could change my mind, perhaps

“And I also want a date”

(Hell, I don’t know why these two people have five arms — ask Grok)

I can see this working either way; in some instances to the advantage of the buyer, who sees the numbers he’s bidding against and doesn’t go wildly over the asked price just to ensure he gets the house. But in other cases it’s the seller who comes out ahead when bidders see that they’ll have to up their game. Might be a wash, in the general, if not the specific, and I’m inclined to favor transparency. Realtor readers, buyers, sellers, what say you?

Real estate website gives buyers a window on competitive bids for Connecticut listings

[I disable Java on the Safari browser to get arund the GT paywall - you may have an easier way]

As open houses gear up in Connecticut with the arrival of the spring real estate selling season, a free website is opening windows on what rival bidders are offering for those homes — with a Massachusetts startup looking to add more brokerages using it.

Final Offer is being used in Connecticut by William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty based in Stamford, with a statewide map of listings online at www.finaloffer.com. Final Offer makes the information available for free to registered users on bids for residential properties, with text alerts available for when a new bid is entered on any property. That gives house hunters instant intel, allowing them to mull whether to raise their own offer on the spot.

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William Pitt Sotheby's broker Colette Kabasakalian is a fan, saying it peels away what she calls "hush-hush" negotiations that frustrates some buyers. A seller is not obligated to accept the highest offer — other motivations could be in play such as an all-cash offer or a buyer waiving an inspection — but buyers at least know where their offer ranks compared to others.

"It is a unique way of showing complete transparency when it comes to bidding wars — and we've been in bidding wars for many years now," said Kabasakalian, a broker in the firm's Ridgefield office. "A lot of times, buyers are frustrated because they may have lost a house by $1,000 and didn't know it. And they they could have gone higher."

A Ridgefield client's property ended up selling for $275,000 above the asking price based on counteroffers from buyers using the platform, which Kabasakalian said convinced her sellers can benefit as well.

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In addition to William Pitt Sotheby's, others with Connecticut listings on Final Offer as of Friday included properties listed by agents with RE/MAX Rise based in Naugatuck, and Century 21 Shutters & Sails which has offices in Stonington, Groton and East Lyme.