I lost out on my dream home about two years ago with a final closed bid. It was the absolute PERFECT home for us as a family, and I was prepared to pay way over the valuation (which is normal anyway where I live). DH and I were on the same page with the level of our offer, and our mother-fucker of a solicitor nay-sayed it, and strongly advised us to go quite a bit lower. DH was persuaded by her, and although I wasn't at all convinced I didn't feel it was fair to pressure DH into a "preposterously" high offer.
Needless to say we didn't get it. The winning offer was just under what we'd originally wanted to offer. Prices have soared since then, and it's worth even more than that. I felt utterly sick with rage and disappointment for many months. The property was a total rarity, and nothing remotely as good as it has come up since then.
However, my guttedness has eased with time. It still makes me wince inside when I think about it, and I get pissed off when people say "it wasn't meant to be". It's still the loveliest place I've seen, and I'd be in there like a shot if it came up again.
We ended up buying another place which is good enough for now. It's lacking a lot of what we wanted, but it's got a couple of things that are arguably better than the dream home.
Basically I think I just ran out of bitterness steam! 🤣 Life goes on. It's a bit like grief, in that it's still a really shit experience, but it becomes a smaller part of your life.
And of course you could be one of the majority percentage who go on to find somewhere even better!