OCTOBER 2020 NEWSLETTER

Hot market

Last month, we told you about the strong demand for property in the area — and the trend continues. This combination of a hot market and a shortage of available properties has led to a surge in “multi-offers” — which simply means multiple buyers submitting competing bids for a single property. In fact, we’re seeing more multi-offer deals now than we have at any time since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.

So what does that mean for you?

If you’re buying, it’s harder to be competitive if your offer is conditional on the sale of a property. If another buyer's offer is not conditional on a sale, the vendor may choose their offer over yours. So if you are serious about buying in the near future, it can be helpful to sell your property first, if possible. That way you know that when you find the right property you’ll be in the best possible position to present a winning offer.

If you’re selling, this is all great news, right? Yes… if it’s handled right. While multi-offers can indeed drive prices up, we’ve also seen situations where potential buyers were lost because the process wasn't handled with skill and felt less than transparent. As you know, buying a property can be emotional and a multi-offer adds an extra layer of stress. That’s why we work hard to ensure the process feels fair to both buyers and sellers. This benefits everyone, as deals are less likely to fall over. It even benefits future vendors, as buyers who are treated fairly are likely to go on to purchase a property from another of our sellers even if they miss out this time. It’s just one of the many ways in which fairness and transparency is also good business.