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"Multiple offers received…
“Bring us your highest and best…
“Please submit all offers by Sunday at noon…
“Not reviewing offers until Next Tuesday…
“Will review all offers once the occupant vacates in the spring…
(Okay, that last one was just for fun. Ha!)
Truth is, phrases like these aren’t laughable… they’re fighting words!
If you’re working with one of the best listing agents in Venice, he can tell you: people come up with some interesting ways to reach their ultimate goal of a coveted “bidding war.”
Bidding wars seem to be all the rage right now. Where a bidding war used to be an organic combustion of perfect pricing, ideal location and coincidental timing, it is seemingly now the primary goal when listing a home. And a misguided one, at that.
Are bidding wars a bad thing in and of themselves? Of course not. As a former soldier, sign me up for a good battle any day of the week! I’m trained and ready.
However, the current housing market in Southwest Florida is already an all out war. There is a mass exodus of people fleeing their homeland of mandates and maniacal magicians to seek refuge in our quaint little corner of liberated paradise that is Sarasota County.
Before you initiate listing terms to appease your appetite for combat, let’s objectively evaluate the tactics…
Holding all offers for several days will definitely get your home in front of more eyeballs (read: more wallets.) Hundreds of reverse prospect emails fly into inboxes of busy buyers’ agents the second I list a new home. More days on the market will assuredly mean more people looking— and bidding. Leaving the window open longer has the potential to let in those with more buying power and less-immediate availability in their schedules.
You may even find a fresh-faced first-time homebuyer who got their pre-approval two days after your listing posted on the market. Though you could’ve been under contract within hours of going live, you instead gave an excited hopeful a chance. A gold-star for kindness goes to you!
On the flip-side, the further your decision-making deadline, the more contracts you’ll have to review. Sounds like an advantage, right? Well, as a professional broker (and a man who lives with three little girls and a wife), trust me when I say, “More options are NOT always better!”
The market is overloaded with exhausted buyers, who are now typically aware of what they are up against. I have found that my highest and best offer is usually received within the first day or two.
Are you really going to have an insane variance in a pool of 15-20 offers that you wouldn’t have in a smaller, equally as viable pool of 7-9?
Doubtful.
What you will have is an extended phone call with your listing agent, presenting pages upon pages of slightly-deviated contracts, all offering pretty similar pros and cons, attempting to decipher and define those details to you — the one left to make a decision between all of those bids you painstakingly held out for and now don’t want to look at for another second…
Say it with me now, “Analysis Paralysis.”
Keep in mind, too… Buyers. Are. Tired. Many have been on a seemingly-endless hunt, fighting impossible bidding battles against big investment companies who sweep in and squelch their efforts. If you hold someone’s offer for five days, chances are they’ll be submitting offers on other homes in the meantime. Which means you could lose the top offer you finally chose.
Look, all is NOT always fair in War and Real Estate. In this market, 100% of homes sell for at or above asking price. If you have hired one of the best listing agents in Venice, there is no need to intentionally pull the trigger on a bidding brawl. Your agent is equipped with an arsenal of strategic maneuvers to ensure the entire process is as harmonious and peaceful as possible, all while maximizing your profit.
If your agent isn’t, well then we know one who is. Give Florida Grown Homes a call (941.412.1355) and we’ll get you connected with a true professional who is equipped for whatever Real Estate war needs to be fought.