Hurry Up & Wait, or, Maneuvering for Multiples?

A hot, new listing that met all your client’s criteria — location, price, home style & size — just came on the market.

You and your client hustled to see the house, then — after reviewing the Comp’s and touching base with the Buyer’s lender — immediately went back to your office to put together an offer.

Two hours later, you delivered a (strong) offer to the listing agent, representing the Seller.

Then . . . nothing. 

How Much Other Interest?

Later the next day — an eternity in this kind of situation — the listing agent let you know that, due to an unspecified family emergency, the Seller wouldn’t be able to respond for at least another 24 hours.

Which of the following increases the odds that the Seller is acting in good faith, vs. simply stalling to give other Buyers time to see the home:

A. The listing agent switches the home’s status to “Temporarily Not Available For Showing” (TNAS).
B. The listing agent cancels the scheduled Broker Tour.
C. The listing agent is accessible, and keeps the Buyer’s agent apprised of new information as it becomes available.
D. All of the above.

Correct answer: “D.”

Ticking Clock

Of course, Sellers can take as long as they want to respond to offers, and provide Buyers with any reason they want (or none) for the delay.

However, in a business where “the first Buyer is often the best Buyer,” letting Buyers cool their heels too long, at least without a good explanation, is a mistake.

See also, “Realtor Conventional Wisdom:  ‘The 1st Buyer is the Best Buyer‘”; and, “Are There Really Multiple Offers? How to Tell.”

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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