In many parts of the Phoenix metro area, we’re in a seller’s market. If a home is appealing and appropriately priced, and especially if it’s an architecturally unique property (i.e. mid-century modern), buyers are finding themselves in multiple offer situations. As an agent, one of the most satisfying things for me is getting my buyers’ offers accepted over those of other buyers. And when I say, “Satisfying,” I mean it’s about as good as having run a long race and finishing at the front of the pack AND being super tired and then enjoying a fantastic meal with friends and then getting a great night’s sleep. All rolled into one. Except it’s for someone else, which makes me feel even better.
In my opinion, the two most critical factors for you to win in a multiple offer situation are:
- Price/terms
- Your agent
You might think it only comes down to number one, but that’s not true. Often buyers write offers all around the same price; there isn’t usually a huge deviation from the mean when it comes to real estate. And whatever variation in price does exist can be equalized by the seller issuing a multiple counter offer. Boom. Everyone is now at the same price. Then what? I can tell you what – the sellers are going to look at their agent and ask,”What do you think?” And that agent is then going to think back to her interaction with the buyers’ agents who submitted the offers. Did they call her and introduce themselves or did they just send the offer over with no notice? Was the offer complete or was it missing pages? Does the agent have a reputation either good or bad? When she tried to call the agent did they answer and/or call her back promptly or did she never hear from them again?
I think you get the drift: your agent matters. He or she matters a lot. They can (and should) be your advocate. They should be doing everything (legal and ethical) within their power to ensure the listing agent understands your commitment to the purchase and why the seller’s best choice is to go with you. A good agent does this in a number of ways and that’s another blog entry for another day. But my advice to you is that when you’re meeting with agents to see who is the best fit to represent you, ask her what she does to get offers accepted in a competitive market. If she can’t bullet-point a list for you, you might want to keep looking for someone who can.