Flipper/Rehabber · Bremerton WA · Member since 2014 · 10 posts · 6 votes
I have heard some conflicting thoughts on this subject. I was told that a listing agent could tell a buying agent the price of other offers as long as it was not specifically prohibited in the contract? It sounded like laws had changed the ability for agents to be able to discus this. I was also told by a different agent that discussing other offers in this way was against their code of ethics? It seems to me that the ability to discus the price of offers would be beneficial to all parties but I’m also curious if this issue is a state by state thing as well?
Morris County, NJ · Member since 2020 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
@Shawn Callan
Yeah, I never got this part... for some reason real estate transactions likes to have closed bidding.. anyway... remember that real estate agents are NOT necessarily Realtors. Also, the Realtor Code of Erhics prevents disclosures of the offer terms unless the client has expressly allowed it.
Morris County, NJ · Member since 2020 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
@Shawn Callan
Yeah, I never got this part... for some reason real estate transactions likes to have closed bidding.. anyway... remember that real estate agents are NOT necessarily Realtors. Also, the Realtor Code of Erhics prevents disclosures of the offer terms unless the client has expressly allowed it.
This may be State specific, but in New Mexico the seller chooses whether he wants the Realtor to reveal terms of the offer when signing a listing agreement. They can have the Realtor say nothing, or reveal if there are other offers, or reveal terms if asked. As you can imagine, there are pros and cons to each, so the seller needs to be made aware of the strategy and decide what they prefer.
Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2019 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
Unless there is something expressly prohibiting disclosure of other offers in the listing agreement or each offer, I guess you could do that, but it's pretty sketchy ethically. I've seen brokers just flat out lie about the number and price of other offers, so I don't even know if what "inside" info you'd get as a buyer is believable.
As a broker, my primary rule is be honest on what you disclose (should be obvious, but that doesn't mean it happens). Otherwise, it'll ALWAYS catch up with you.
Also, what you tell any party on the buy side, you should be able to tell to ALL parties on the buy side.