I am seeing similar thing locally. Two of the house near my place (east
coast) was sold recently at a price higher than the listing price.
I don't know exactly what behind the deal. My guess was that there was more
than one buyer who liked the house and determined to get the house since
there was really not much house on market during the past two years. So if
they see a house meet their need and they can afford to buy it, they act
quickly and sometimes offer a higher than listing price to win the bid,
otherwise it is gone and you have to wait other listing come out and hope
there is one meet your need - the problem is: who knows when? There might
be enough buyer who can afford the house and have a family condition (a baby
is going to be born soon, etc) so them act quicker than others. If you have
a strong reason to buy, act quickly. If not, wait - but be prepared to be
very patient because there might be always someone eager than you to get the
house.