How to Navigate a Multiple Offer Situation in the Capital District

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Today, I want to talk about best practices for handling a multiple offer situations.

The market conditions right now are great for sellers. There’s a shortage of inventory and more buyers in the market, which creates more demand for your property. There are more buyers than there are homes, which means more multiple offer situations. 

Here’s an example. This past week, we had a listing on the market for four days. We aggressively marketed the property to bring in a ton of buyers, which resulted in three offers. The seller was very happy. Two of the offers were above listing price. The other was just under. 

We wanted to make sure everyone had a fair chance. As a seller, you should look at all the offers and let the agents know they have until 5pm the next day to give you their best and final offer. We didn’t want to go back and forth for weeks and wind up turning those buyers away!

We did exactly that and every offer came back over asking price. We also examined the conditions, terms, and the financing. My seller picked the one that best suited their needs. 

Unfortunately, the next morning I received a phone call from one of the buyers who didn’t get the home. They upped their offer by $5,000. My seller decided to stick with the offer they had already selected, so naturally, this buyer was disappointed. 

In a multiple offer situation, you should always have the seller reach out to buyer agents and get the best and final offer. If you want to keep the other two as back up, that’s fine. The fact of the matter is there’s one house and three buyers, so someone’s going to be upset that they didn’t get the home. 

As a buyer, if you find the perfect home, I highly advise that you put your best and final offer forward. If you want to stand out, some buyers will put together a love letter describing why they love the home. Believe it or not, that’s helped many of my buyers secure the home of their dreams. 

You should definitely work with a professional real estate agent to help you negotiate multiple offers as a buyer or seller. If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!