Offer verbally accepted then renegged

Its possible, and it happens. Until the contract is signed you can't do nothing about it.,

dirty cheezy desperate tactics.

there is always "another bidder." you either call their bluff or offer more. those are your only options.

the rule of buying an apt and making money on your investment is to never fall in love with an apt. it is a business transaction. you felt it was worth the price you offered. There is always another apt. I think you should start looking for another. If it takes you a while, who knows, prices might go down a bit as many are predicting a double dip.

They should hold a "best and final".

there are only certain circumstances when a best and final should be implemented. Too many times I have seen agents handle a best and final because they have what they seem are two worthy bids, and then the end result is no deal. Assuming you have two written offers, complete with all require pre-qualifying and atty information, then you determine if BOTH bids are within the ACCEPTABLE PRICE RANGE / TIMING FOR CLOSE of the seller AND Financially Qualified to secure a loan and pass the board. Not always does this occur when two bids are in. If you have a 1M property, and two bids of 840k and 850k are in but the seller wont accept anything under 875k; a best and final is likely not your best move to play this situation to its fullest.

Moving on to the OP question, unfortunately that is how this market operates. Darkbird is right, until contract is executed, deal is not done and seller likely will market property fully to keep pressure on. If you were a seller and received a higher offer BEFORE a prior one signed, what would you do?

F'k the sellers. Lower your bid 5%, increase your downdeposit and shorten time to closing. Two can go n a fishing expedition

First of all, congratulations on shortly becoming a homeowner. This is a wise choice for you and for your family for the long term. Soon you will have the opportunity to feel welcome home!

Second, those who have clarified to you that the deal is not completed until closing are correct, and that you have no way of knowing if there are other bidders and what the level of those bids may be are similarly correct.

And there are people who are deal makers for a living and may just view their purchases as opportunities to earn profits in real estate in exchange for reducing risk to others. I assume you are not in the position to reduce risk and this is your primary home. If that is the case, and if you are not a professional buyer and seller deal maker and are looking to live in this home long term, I'd advise you to consider the risk of the downside: what happens if you do not purchase the apartment home?

Ask yourself, do you see yourself living in this home long term? Is this home appropriate for your family? How easily did you find this perfect home? Were there other secondary homes that you found in your search that met your criteria?

If the difference in price between your original offer and the new asking price is less than 5%, consider viewing that 5% over the number of months you might live in this home. The average homeowner lives in a home for 7 years, or approximately 84 months. If you consider the dollar difference of 5% over 84 months, would you be concerned about the small amount affecting your finances? How many Starbucks lattes might the payment equal.

Once you put the additional purchase price in perspective of your long term in your home and your and your family's happiness, you may find that this aggravation today is just simply aggravation that is irrelevant in the long term.

Again, congratulations on your path toward home ownership.

Thank you for all your responses!

The problem with an oral contract is proving its existence.
Does the law apply an even higher standard for real estate sales?

Yes, it does. No such thing as an oral contract in RE. Either it's written, or it's not a contract.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_frauds

@ grunty: "They should hold a "best and final"."
- There is no point in doing best and final if no one has gone to the full ask.

@ NWT: Yup.

And yes, this does happen. I've had listings that literally sit for weeks and weeks and then, like magic, there is interest from multiple parties all of a sudden. Until you have a signed contract, the apartment isn't yours.

If you want the apartment, don't be surprised when someone else wants it too!

(Matthew Russell - Brown Harris Stevens)

Don't you know Matthew, that no one ever really wants an apt, they are just tricked into thinking they do by people in the real estate profession.

no deal is a "deal" until the contract is signed.