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Am I legally required to accept the highest offer?

No. In New York, real estate offers are not legally binding until a contract is fully executed. You retain complete strategic optionality during a bidding war - you can reject the highest bid, accept a lower but structurally stronger offer, extend the deadline, accept a late submission, or reject all bids entirely if none meet your target. The seller controls the process from start to finish.

⚠️ CONFLICT - needs human review: Article states that the seller has complete optionality, is never legally bound to accept a bid, and controls the process from start to finish. Legal Memorandum LI10: Defining When a Real Estate Broker's Commission Is Due (T1, accessed 2026-08-01) states that the listing agreement controls when a commission is earned and recommends separately negotiating unconditional offer-rejection language.

⚠️ UNVERIFIED: No T1/T2 source located as of 2026-08-01.

From the seller playbook: Offer Deadline Game Theory

This is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Every situation is different. Talk to a licensed attorney, accountant or tax professional before you act.

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