Overbids are still rampant

My wife and I found a house a few months ago that we really liked. However, we weren't ready to put an offer down quite yet. With the real estate market flattening out (at least so we thought), we figured that the house might sit on the market and may even drop in price.

To our chagrin, 3 days later, the house was already in contract. It was in a great location, nice layout, and had a big yard - what more could you ask for? Apparently, many others felt the same way. I just found out through public records that the house sold for $150K over the asking price. Of course, this overbid happened during the alleged 'bubble popping'. Wonderful. The only positive takeaway from this experience was that I learned that I have the ability to spot a good 'bargain'.