If you are a real buyer looking in any market right now, there is something you absolutely must do in order to be taken serious when making an offer.  You absolutely must have a pre-approval letter or if paying cash, you must have a letter from a financial institution stating that you have sufficient funds to purchase the property.  Many Listing Agents are hesitant to present an offer without a letter showing that financing is approved.  Some Buyer's Agents I know won't even put a buyer in a car without seeing a letter.

If you are borrowing, ask your lender to get you pre-approved up to a certain price point.  When you see a house you want to make an offer on, the lender should write a letter stating that you are pre-approved for a loan for that particular property.  Don't have the lender put in a price, just the address.  You don't want to give any information you don't need to give.

If you are paying cash, do something similar.  Talk with your banker and tell the banker what your plans are.  Have a letter drafted so that all the lender needs to do when it is time to make an offer is insert the address of the property.

If you are prepared in this way, sellers will take you seriously are more likely to start negotiating right away.  If you don't provide one of these documents, they may not even respond until you provide one.