Skip to content

Let's keep in touch

Subscribe to our newsletter for timely insights and actionable tips on your real estate journey.

By signing up, you indicate that you agree to the BiggerPockets Terms & Conditions

Posted about 16 years ago

Buyers Are Fed Up With Multiple Offers

Toronto's booming housing market is causing some interesting problems for purchasers looking to snap up deals. Many purchasers are being sideswiped by a maneuver called a bully offer, which has turned into a prevalent way to snatch houses off the market in advance of a bid date. Real estate agents are trapped in a dilemma because of bully offers, and have to deal with their responsibility to obtain for their clients the highest price while maintaining consumer confidence in multiple offer procedures.
The bully offer tactic is a result of the bidding process presently popular to attract attention to a home by publishing a low price and opening the house for showings, but not accepting bids until a specified time. The bully offer happens when one of the prospective purchasers presents a generous offer , normally greater than the low published price , but stipulates it has to be accepted in advance of the offer date. The home owner recognizes their chance to sell their home fast and frequently accepts the bully offer to short the time of the current sales strategy.This state of affairs is being witnessed in many places like Toronto and can be exasperating for purchasers browsing the market for homes or Toronto condominiums listings and think that they discovered the right one for them.
Obviously, buyers who have respected the target date are not happy with bully offers. They have issued grievances, and revised procedures have been implemented to give a more just approach to bully offers. This type of scheme is used often in Toronto but purchasers of homes in Brampton and other neighbouring regions are also seeing it. If a bully offer is made and the vendor wishes to agree to it, the Realtor must call all the bid candidates and let them know a bully offer has been made so they can be given the occasions to make a counter offer. Unfortunately, this has not really levelled the odds, since it is often impossible for a prospective purchaser to stop everything and race to table a counter offer. As a consequence, the bully offer goes unchallenged and if accepted nullifies the whole bidding process.
Some real estate professionals do urge their clients not to entertain a bully offer, but to wait until the scheduled offer presentation because there might be a higher offer made by another buyer. This guidance has proven wise in a lot of sales, however just as many are so tempted by the bully offer that they are not able to resist. This causes many perspective purchasers on the sidelines when their efforts are intercepted by bully offers, and they are becoming increasingly frustrated with these aggressive methods.
The harm that bully offers have caused to the real estate sector is tempting legal action as consumer confidence in the process declines. Many are asking for an overhaul of the whole bidding system, and Realtors are needing to take a hard look at how they may best accommodate the backlash of the bully offer on their industry. A solution for potential purchasers would be to change to real estate in Wasaga Beach and steer clear of the Toronto region however that is clearly not workable.  As long as the real estate glut in Toronto is affecting the offer system, purchasers are going to have to be on their guard to counteract any bully offers that interrupt their chance to bid. Any seasoned agent would advise their purchasers not to be forced into making an offer that is over the fair market worth for any house.

Comments