Some buyers find themselves in a "repeating stalemate" situation -- where they have made offers on multiple offers and they keep coming up short, and not being able to find common ground with the home sellers.  In the situation I am describing, it is not a result of the buyer being outbid by another buyer -- but rather, because they repeatedly are not willing to pay a price that the seller is willing to accept.

In such a situation, a buyer can start to wonder whose thinking is askew.  Are they being unreasonable as buyers, thinking that they should be able to buy one of these homes for $X?  Or are the sellers being unreasonable as sellers, thinking that they should be able to sell their home for $Y?

In the end, I suppose that if the seller is willing to continue to own their home (and not sell it) then it is OK for them to continue to try to sell their home for $Y if multiple buyers keep walking way from negotiations not willing to pay $Y.

And likewise, if a buyer is willing to continue to not buy a home then it is OK for them to continue to walk away from negotiations when sellers won't accept $X for the house.

The only way that this type of a stalemate ever ends is when one party finally decides that their long-held and previously non-negotiable position can be compromised.