How Do Sellers Review Multiple Offers In Calgary?

The Calgary real estate market is on fire right now and pretty much every listing that is somewhat priced well is receiving multiple offers.

My latest listing received 17 offers and sold for close to $75,000 more than the list price. It can be a frustrating time for buyers, but there are some things you can do to improve your chances of securing the home home.

Check out my youtube video for all of the information and a condensed written version below.

Price - Sometimes the decision is really easy for the seller when someone is simply offering too much for the home. For example, my latest listing was listed for $525,000 and sold for $595,000. There's not much you can do about this.

Closing Date - A good practice is to call the listing agent and ask what the seller would like for the possession date. Make it easy for the seller to accept your offer. For example, my latest listing had a basement tenant and some people were submitting offers with possession dates that would make it difficult for the tenant such as mid month etc. We ended up accepting an offer where the buyer took on the tenant and gave us flexible possession.

Deposit - A higher deposit shows your strength as a buyer. A higher deposit improves your chances when competing against similar offers with lower deposits. Try to get the deposit in the same day as the offer is accepted if possible.

Conditions -When in a multiple offer situation conditions can be a deal breaker. For example, my latest listing had a conditional offer at $601,000 but we actually took an unconditional offer at $595,000 because there's more certainty.

Try to have your financing together, a pre approval letter, staggered conditions dates like a quick home inpsection condition, but a longer financing condition.

Escalation clause - Our offer will be $1000 more than the highest bidder, our offer will be $1000 higher than the highest bidder up to $570,000 etc.

Have they viewed the home in person - Some buyers haven't viewed the home in person and deals like this can fall apart when they view the home in person. Best to view in person if possible.

Terms: Don't go overboard with terms when in a competing offer situation. For example, my latest listing received 17 offers and some people had terms such as the buyer's lawyer looking at the land survey, junk removal, professional cleaning, tenancy forms, etc. These are all ok in a balanced market but when competing against 16 other buyers you have to make it easy for the seller to take your offer.

Communication - The buyer's agent can make the deal easier to accept by being punctual and a good communicator. There's nothing worse than working on a transaction and the other realtor goes missing. This can cost a buyer a transaction!