Somebody asked me once, “What is the most number of offers you’ve ever had a on a listing?”

I honestly don’t know.

And I’m a stats guy who is OCD and loves spreadsheets.

But for some reason, I don’t have that tally.

I could probably estimate.  I don’t think I’ve ever had 30+ offers on a listing before, but I can recall many in the 20’s.

Price, location, and property type haven’t seemed to make a difference.

I’ve had 20+ offers on listings over $2M and 20+ offers on listings at $499,000.

I’ve had 20+ offers on properties located downtown, east, and west.

And I’ve had 20+ offers on both condos and houses.

Don’t get me wrong: this is not a badge of honour.  In fact, the old-school way of thinking would say that an agent who receives 20+ offers on a listing is guilty of mispricing.

Now, we know that’s not exactly true today, since we all under-price as a sort of “starting bid price” and hold an offer date.  But regardless, I’m not one of the agents out there that thinks it’s cool to get 40 offers, or sets out to do so.  I won’t advertise this, nor will I get a lawn-sign rider made that says, “SOLD WITH 44 OFFERS!”

Call me a softie, but when I have twenty-one offers on a listing, I know that twenty people are going to be disappointed that night, and it sucks.  More to the point, I know, because of the stories we’ve told here on TRB over the last few years, that a handful of those buyers will be absolutely crushed when they see the sale price and how much they lost by.  Some will be embarrassed.  But others will be angry and look to blame “the market” or “investors,” and talk about how the market “should” provide for A, B, and C.

Unlike many agents in Toronto, I don’t revel in the glory of being a listing agent who receives twenty-one offers and plays God.

My job is to sell the property with the best possible terms and ensure that I respect everybody in the process.  I go out of my way to ensure the buyer agents submitting offers on my listings speak to me personally and don’t feel “rejected,” per se.

The property I want to talk about today shall remain nameless.

It was in the west end.  Or east.  Or Mimico.  Or something like that.

My clients had a “bottom line” of $1,100,000, based on absolutely nothing, of course.  It was merely a number they had chosen and because I’m in sales, and good with numbers, I can make an argument that its’ worth more, or less.

To say this is worth less, I could look at detached bungalows on large lots are selling for, which is primarily land value, but given our property was a semi-detached raised bungalow, the comparable would work in favour of a lower value.

To say this is worth more, oh, I dunno, I could simply check in with my gut, look at what’s happening in the market, and tell buyers, agents, and market onlookers, “supply and demand, folks!”

Suffice it to say, a well-timed, well-presented listing will always have upside rather than downside.

We repaired, decluttered, cleaned, and staged the house.

We chose to list at $898,900, despite the seller suggesting that this is too low and that $999,900 would be so much closer to their $1,100,000 target.

In my mind, my goal was $1,200,000 all along.  That’s not a crazy price for the house, all things considered, and based on some of our other sales, I thought that was quite doable.

Of course, there was always a possibility that we get more.

$1,250,000 wasn’t out of the question.

And by the time the listing was underway, I would never say never to something approaching $1,300,000.

We had a whopping 86 showings on the property in the week that it was listed.

We hosted a public open house for the first time since before the pandemic, and we had about 15 groups on Saturday and 25 groups on Sunday.  Many of these were buyers with agents who didn’t officially book a showing, and many were buyers coming back for their second or third look.

There were, surprisingly, only 8 agents who asked for a copy of the home inspection.

During the course of the week, I received at least thirty phone calls from agents asking the same-old, same-old; “What price do you expect?

I’ve written far too much about this already in 2022, so we’ll just leave it there.

Offer day came, and at 9:30am, I sent out an “Offer Instructions” email to the 86 agents who had shown the property.

I run hot and cold with these emails.  At times, I think they are presumptuous, and agents will send out these emails in cool markets and act like they have leverage, when they end up with zero offers in the end.  But in times like this, they are very, very necessary.

This is how my offer instructions email looks:

Dear Colleagues:

Thank you for showing our listing at (address)

If your clients are not interested in submitting an offer this evening, please disregard this email, and we wish you continued success in this busy spring market!

For those with interested clients, here are the particulars:

• There are currently no offers registered.
• We will not be representing any buyers of our own.
• There is no survey for the property.
• Offers will be reviewed tonight at 7:00pm, by email to davidfleming@bosleyrealestate.com
• Please register your offer by 5:00pm by uploading Form 801 through BrokerBay or calling 416-322-8000 to register with front desk.
• The sellers would prefer a closing date mid-to-end June.
• Bosley requires a deposit cheque “Herewith.”  Please provide a scan or photo of the cheque.  Please note the payee is “Bosley – Toronto Realty Group Inc. In Trust”
• Carson Dunlop home inspection is available – please email for a copy.
• Registered offers will be updated through BrokerBay.  Please do not call for an update on offers; you will be emailed via BrokerBay as subsequent offers are registered.
• We are not in a position to advise on sellers’ expectations on price, or comparable sales to consider.

Any questions, please let us know!

David.

–

Tell me I’m a jerk for noting that “we are not in a position to advise on sellers’ expectations on price, or comparable sales to consider,” but it’s a necessity right now.

Having said that, I still received a dozen calls to this effect on offer day.

That email was sent out to buyer agents at about 9:45am.

Here’s an exact timeline for day:

9:58am – I receive a text message from an agent (I think it was an agent….) no name, no identifier, that says, “Hi Don: I might have an offer for you tonight.”  If this is a sign of things to come, it’s not a good one.

10:03am – An agent emails for a copy of the home inspection.

11:05am – An agent emails for a copy of the home inspection.

11:07am – An agent calls to say his client will only offer if there are less than five offers, so to take down his number and call him at 7pm.  I said that I would not do so, and he hung up on me.

11:15am – An agent calls to ask if I can send him a PDF copy of the MLS listing, which is very odd, unless he’s from a different board.  Then again, does he not have an admin who can do this?

11:32am – An agent emails for a copy of the home inspection.

11:35am – An agent emails to ask what the preferred closing date is, despite this being included in the “Offer Instructions.”

11:40am – An agent calls to ask, “What is your client’s desired price?”  My response was, “I cannot give you any guidance on price,” which I reiterated twice as he asked the question two more times in different ways.

11:45am – An agent calls to say that his client can offer $999,999 and to call him at 7pm if this is going to work.  I told him that this isn’t how offers work and that if he wants to make an offer, he may do so by 7pm.  He thanked me, and hung up.  I did not hear from him again.

12:16am – An agent emails to ask if there is a survey, which there was not, as detailed in the “Offer Instructions.”

12:38pm – An agent texts to ask for a copy of the home inspection to be emailed to him, but doesn’t include his name, or more importantly, email.  I do nothing.  I never hear back.

2:22pm – 1st offer registered

2:23pm – An agent calls to ask if there’s a survey.

2:42pm – 2nd offer registered

2:56pm – Another agent calls to ask what the sellers’ preferred closing date is.

3:14pm – An agent emails to ask what the easement on the property is.  This is a standard easement for Bell Telephone that runs with all properties.

3:17pm – An agent called me and said, “I already know the answer to this question, but I have to ask: does $1 Million have any shot?”  I told him that I hadn’t answered those questions for anybody, all week, and it wouldn’t be fair to do so now, but, if I were the buyer agent, I wouldn’t make that offer.  I think he got the conversation out of his system.  I didn’t hear from him again.

3:21pm – 3rd offer registered

3:25pm – The agent who registered offer #2 calls to ask, “Do you expect any more offers?”  Well,l I mean, it’s 3:25pm.  We have 3 1/2 hours to go.  I tell him, “Yes, I expect many more offers.”  He seems disappointed.

3:38pm – 4th offer registered

3:58pm – 5th offer registered

4:40pm – 6th offer registered

4:43pm – 7th offer registered

4:46pm – 8th offer registered

4:47pm – Offer is submitted, but not registered with the brokerage:

$1,150,000 purchase price
$80,000 deposit – no cheque
Financing condition

4:55pm – 9th offer registered

4:59pm – 10th offer registered

5:00pm – The agent that emailed me the offer at 4:47pm calls to ask, “How are we looking?”  I told him offers were at 7pm.  He didn’t seem fazed.

5:03pm – 11th offer registered

5:04pm – 12th offer registered

5:16pm – 13th offer registered

5:18pm – 14th offer registered

5:21pm – 15th offer registered

5:45pm – Offer submitted from Agent #13:

$1,150,000 purchase price
$60,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions

5:32pm – Offer submitted from Agent #5.

$1,100,000 purchase price
$50,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

5:33pm – 16th offer registered

5:34pm – Offer submitted from Agent #16:

$1,250,000 purchase price
$65,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions
Personal letter attached

He also emailed all his buyer agency paperwork with the listing, by mistake.

5:38pm – Offer submitted from Agent #14:

$1,200,000 purchase price
$100,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions

5:41pm – Offer submitted from Agent #11:
$1,100,000 purchase price
$65,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions

5:42pm – I received this text message:

This is just one of several messages like it that I received on this day, but I’m one of those people who clear all my text messages as soon as I no longer need to action them (again, my OCD taking over), so I no longer have those messages to share.  Suffice it to say, I could have provided a lot more of these bizarre messages.

What’s bizarre about this?

Well, the person says that he or she sent me an offer and asks if I received it.

BUT WHO ARE YOU?

No name, no brokerage, nothing.

This is how a lot of agents communicate…

5:42pm – Offer submitted from an agent who hasn’t registered.  We register her as Agent #17:

$1,251,000 purchase price
$50,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

5:43pm – Offer submitted from Agent #6:

$1,150,000 purchase price
$100,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions
Waiving $22,800 in commission (buying for her kids)
Personal letter attached

5:46pm – Agent #16 revises $1,250,000 offer and re-submits at $1,275,000, unsolicited

5:52pm – Offer submitted from Agent #8:

$1,306,500 purchase price
$50,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions

5:52pm – 18th offer registered

5:53pm – Offer submtited from Agent #18:

$1,225,000 purchase price
$40,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

6:02pm – Offer submitted from Agent #7:

$1,265,888 purchase price
$65,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

6:16pm – Offer submitted from Agent #3:

$1,185,000 purchase price
$100,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions

6:28pm – We register the offer submitted at 4:47pm as the 19th registered offer

6:34pm – Offer submitted from Agent #4:

$1,200,000 purchase price
$40,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

6:37pm – Offer submitted from Agent #2:

$1,310,000 purchase price
$100,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions

6:39pm – Offer submtited from Agent #9:

$1,109,000 purchase price
$20,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions

6:40pm – Offer submitted from Agent #20:

$1,100,000 purchase price
$50,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

This was the agent shit-talking the property at the open house…

6:41pm – 20th offer registered

6:42pm – 21st offer registered

6:47pm – Offer submitted from Agent #21:

$1,200,111 purchase price
$65,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

6:54pm – Offer submitted from Agent #1:

$1,150,000 purchase price
$57,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

6:55pm – An agent emails me to say, “David you were right, you told me ‘there could be twenty offers, and there are!  Thanks, good luck!”

6:56pm – Offer submitted from Agent #12:

$1,305,000 purchase price
$50,000 deposit – with bank draft
No conditions

7:04pm – Offer submitted from Agent #10:

$1,100,000 puchase price
$50,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

7:05pm – An agent emails me to say, “My client loves this property, please do what you can to make sure we get it!”  Their offer is for $1,150,000 and is not close.

7:06pm – An agent emails to ask for an update.  Six minutes after offers were to be reviewed.

7:30pm – Offer submitted from Agent #15:

$1,250,000 purchase price
$65,000 deposit – no cheque
No conditions

–

And that was that.

I’m missing a lot of other interactions with agents, but I typed this after scrolling through emails, my call log, and whatever text messages I hadn’t deleted.  I’d say you can safely multiply those interactions by three, and that’s about right for the day.

All told, we had 21 offers.

1 offer was conditional.  ONE!  Out of twenty-one!  Bravo to the market, that’s exceptional!

10 offers were accompanied by deposit cheques in the form of a bank draft.  That’s not bad, considering.

What I did find odd, however, was the closing dates offered.

My offer instructions email said “mid-to-end of June,” and yet I received 2 offers with closing dates in April.  Hey, to each their own, right?  Offer whatever you want!  But when you’re up against twenty competitors, you want to make your offer as strong as possible, and asking for a 30-day closing when the seller wants 90+ is an odd ask.  We had 7 offers with May closing dates as well.

Listed at $899,900, the lowest offer was $1,100,000.  Four people made that offer, and one agent came in at $1,109,000.

$1,150,000 was a popular number as well, with four buyers coming in at that number.

12 of the 21 offers were between $1,100,000 and $1,200,000, including two at $1,200,000 even.

But the top three offers set themselves apart from the rest:

$1,305,000
$1,306,000
$1,310,000

And here’s where half of you hate me and half of you let me do my job.

We called the other eighteen agents and thanked them for their offers, but let them know that we were working with three offers at the very top, and then we did, in fact “work with” those three offers at the top.

Much of the general public, at this point, would demand that we simply accept the “winning bid” of $1,310,000.

But that’s not how real estate works.

Those three buyers all had different deposit amounts, different closing dates, and different clauses.  One of the three didn’t have a deposit cheque.  All three told me in conversation during the day, “If I’m close, I really want another chance to improve.”

Who am I to deny them of that?

Look, I get it.  Real estate is prohibitively expensive in the city of Toronto, and many blame agents for “driving up the price.”

But unlike the agents who would send all twenty-one buyers back to improve, which is a shitty thing to do, I am to run a fair process, BUT, work for my seller in the process.

Is my seller going to say “no” to more than $1,310,000?  Of course not!

And anybody reading this, who disagrees with the way real estate is sold, would be a liar if they said they didn’t want the most for their home.

I called all three agents and said, “You’re within five grand of eachother, bring your absolute best, and we’re taking the highest, even if one dollar separates them.”

$1,310,000 improved to $1,321,000

$1,306,000 improved to $1,321,500.

$1,305,000 improved to $1,350,000.

And that was that.

Had $1,305,000 stayed where they were, for argument’s sake, we’d have taken $1,321,500 and the buyer and buyer agent at $1,321,000 would have had a really tough time swallowing that.  I’d have got a call the next day; “You didn’t send me back?”

As a buyer agent, you expect the listing agent to accept your offer if you’re the highest, but give you another shot to improve if you’re in second place or worse.  That’s the Catch-22 that buyer agents just can’t seem to get over.

The buyer brought the deposit cheque to our office at 11:15pm, we updated MLS, and the “SOLD” sign went up the next day.

That’s what twenty-one offers on a property looks like.

Or, it’s not.  At all.

It’s what it looks like when my team is listing a property.

Because every single listing agent in the city runs his or her offer process differently.  There are a lot of similarities, and you hope that more agents are respectful and thankful than not, but work in this business long enough, and you’ll simply grow to expect the worst.

So then, what’s the best part of this story?  What’s the worst part?

I’m all ears, even if we agree to disagree…