Offers as Received vs Offer Date: What’s the difference?
BY SCOTT MOORE, REALTORWhen it comes to selling your home, one of the earliest decisions you’ll make is how to handle offers - will you review offers as they are received or will you set an offer date? Each strategy has pros and cons.
Understanding the difference between the two strategies and figuring out which is best for your home is an important part of making the best marketing plan for your home.
Offers as Received: This means that you review offers as soon as buyers submit them. If someone is interested in your home, they can make an offer right away. There’s no waiting for a specific date. This puts pressure on buyers as another offer could come in at any time and the house could get sold.
This method is great if you want to move quickly or if you are more comfortable setting a higher list price and either accepting it, or negotiating downwards. It’s also useful if your home is in a hot market where buyers are eager to make fast decisions, or if your home is unique and not likely to appeal to a large number of buyers. However, without an offer date, you won’t always get the chance to create competition between buyers, which can sometimes lead to more offers.
Offer Date: With this approach, you list your home and allow buyers to see it for a set period, usually one-week, and you don’t receive any offers until a specific date and time. The idea is to give everyone time to view your home, sometimes more than once, with the chance of creating competition if there are multiple people that want to make an offer.
This strategy works well when your home is desirable, in great condition, and priced competitively. By not allowing offers to come in until a set day, you can create a bidding war, which could drive the sale price higher. However, it also means you have to wait a little longer before you know what offers you’re getting.
Factors to Consider: There are so many factors that go into choosing the right strategy for your home: the timeline, the time of year, the neighbourhood, and the price point, must be considered, so it is key to work with an experienced and knowledgeable REALTOR.
Our REALTORs at The Moore Group will help you understand the pros and cons of the these offer strategies as they specifically relate to your particular home. Selling homes is what we do all day, every day, and we would be very happy to help you sell yours.