How Should Toronto Sellers Deal with Multiple Offers?

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Selling a home?  Click here for a free home value estimate. 
Call us at (416) 438-2536 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

Welcome back everyone, today we are answering some of the most common questions we get from sellers regarding multiple offers. With a shortage of inventory and very low interest rates, multiple offers are becoming a lot more common in Toronto. We want you to be prepared, and you will be after you hear the answers to the following questions:

"As a seller, what should I do before I list my property in order to get multiple offers?"

Preparation is very important when offering your home to the market. It's our most valuable asset and we want to show everything in your home in its best possible light.

There are a few critical things that must be done to maximize your list-to-sale price. Staging the home is important because it can increase your home's value by 5% or more. Online marketing is critical for getting your home in front of the highest amount of buyers possible. Finally, pre-listing home inspections are a good way to get out in front of any problems with your home, and demonstrate your authenticity with your buyer.

"If you receive multiple offers in the first few days after your home is listed, should you accept the first one, or wait for more?"

This is an excellent question. If we received one or more offers before our presentation date, this is what's commonly called a "bully offer." When a bully offer comes in, you have to know the market value of your home. When sellers are holding out for multiple offers, they usually list a home for 10% less than its market value. Just because a home is sold over asking price doesn't mean it's sold for market value. 

Thanks for taking the time to watch today. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Multiple Offers from the Buyer's Perspective

Buying a home? Click here to search all homes on the MLS
Selling a home?  Click here for a free home value estimate. 
Call us at (416) 438-2536 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

Hey everybody and welcome back to our video blog! The spring market in Toronto is in full swing, and lately a lot of homes have been seeing multiple offers. If you are thinking of listing your home this spring or summer, it's likely you will get multiple offers too, and if you're buying, you are likely competing against multiple offers. We want you to be prepared for each situation, so today we are going to be discussing what do with multiple offers from a buyer's perspective. 

We see many people get serious about buying, then subsequently get intimidated by multiple offers. In the Toronto area, we are still feeling a very strong seller's market, with an absorption rate of 58%. To put that into perspective, a neutral market has about a 25% absorption rate. Interest rates are still at record lows, and there are many buyers out there competing in the market, partly due to a 7.5% decrease in inventory from this time last year. 

So, is the only way to win in a multiple offer situation by offering more money? Not necessarily. When you hire a skilled and knowledgeable Realtor, you will find that sellers really look at 6 different factors to determine which offer to accept. They are: price, deposit, closing date, extras, conditions, terms. For most sellers, the price is the most important, but when offers are deadlocked in price, the other 5 factors will determine who wins. 

When making an offer, one extra touch we recommend is writing a personal letter to the seller. Real estate transactions are unique because they are both a business and a personal transaction. When you let a seller know how you and your family will take care of their home, it can help.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to talking with you soon!