When buying a house, it’s not unusual to come by a multi-offer process. With the current state of the housing market, there is a shortage of supply, which means it’s a fair and reasonable expectation that you will find yourself in a multi-offer situation following the presentation of an offer. We’re also finding that there are a lot of houses for sale in the first home owner bracket. In Southland, these properties are sitting at around the $400,000 and $500,000 price mark. Because of the increasing demand for them, multi-offers are common. For some, this can be an overwhelming concept if you haven’t found yourself in this position before. Luckily, we know all about the process and are here to walk you through it.
What is a Multi-offer?
In short, a multi-offer is when the person who is selling their house has received multiple offers on their property and is given the choice of what offer to take. However, the seller may decide to reject all offers altogether, or they could be willing to negotiate the terms of the offer. It’s also an opportunity for the potential buyer to put their best price forward in the hopes of having their offer accepted.
What to Do in a Multi-Offer Situation
Preparation is key. To have a better chance of having your offer accepted when you’re up against other buyers, it’s important to make sure you’ve got all your ducks in a row. Having a builder’s inspection organised, your loan pre-approved and a LIM report handy is a smart way to set yourself up for success. As a buyer, you need to consider your financial capacity. What we don’t want is people offering over what they can realistically afford - and it’s not always the highest price that the seller goes for. It could be that one offer is lower than the other, but the conditions are more appealing to the seller.
Our Role as Agents
Most of the time, it’s hard to predict the outcome of a multi-offer - the decision is totally up to the seller. What is going on in the seller’s life at the time is what determines the outcome. Ultimately, it’s about which offer will engage them most. As agents, our role is to keep you informed and establish clear communication with you as a prospective buyer throughout the process. We’re there to empower buyers to make an informed decision without putting them under duress. They’ll also have the time to speak to their solicitor or accountant before deciding whether to improve their offer. For sellers, multi-offers allow them full control of what the outcome of the sale will be. We offer them our professional advice and then they instruct us on what the next steps are. We have a business process and practice in place for how we support both the buyer and the seller when a multi-offer situation arises. That way, you’ll know exactly what the timeline looks like and where you stand with your options.
For us, it’s about having a duty of care to our buyers and sellers, and being there to offer the advice they need to move forward with making such big decisions. Communication is a critical component of the buy and sell process, and something we are committed to doing effectively here at SRE.
Want to know more about the multi-offer process? Contact one of our friendly team members today for additional information and advice.