diff --git a/migration/ram.c b/migration/ram.c
index 1a3d9e6d87..26e03a5dfa 100644
--- a/migration/ram.c
+++ b/migration/ram.c
@@ -708,7 +708,7 @@ static void migration_bitmap_sync(RAMState *rs)
 
             if ((rs->num_dirty_pages_period * TARGET_PAGE_SIZE >
                    (bytes_xfer_now - rs->bytes_xfer_prev) / 2) &&
-                (rs->dirty_rate_high_cnt++ >= 2)) {
+                (++rs->dirty_rate_high_cnt >= 2)) {
                     trace_migration_throttle();
                     rs->dirty_rate_high_cnt = 0;
                     mig_throttle_guest_down();