If you’re buying a house in Guelph real estate, you’re likely in a much better position than you would have been in spring 2022. The dreaded “holding offers” has almost disappeared.

The Guelph real estate market has been on a steady rise since June 2021. This is when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and Greater toronto area (GTA) buyers from the 416 and 905 buyers flocked to Guelph. This was mainly because of it’s commutability and the ability to get more for your money as you move further west. 

Holding offers isn’t new in Guelph. As far back as 2018 when Beth and Ryan first identified a supply and demand imbalance and a trend of GTA buyers to Guelph it was mentioned.

By December 2020, Beth and Ryan were quoted in articles like “Is Guelph one of the hottest real estate markets in Ontario?” by Toronto Storeys as people began to take notice of the Royal City.

What is “holding offers” in real estate?

With pent up demand in a sellers market, home sellers take the strategy of “holding offers”. This means that sellers have chosen to review any and all offers on a specific date and time (typically a one week period after listing, which usually includes open houses). This offer presentation time is in anticipation that more than one person will submit an offer on the offer date.

In this scenario, the asking price is just a starting point. Consider the home sale an auction: the list price is a low price to start. The seller anticipates a better offer than the listing price.

This competition, or multiple offer situations creates real estate bidding wars in a hot market. It raises the offer price and sells to the highest bidder from those buying a house. Holding offers in area code 519 has become the norm. This is because more people are working from home with flexible work arrangements.

A note of caution for buyers in this scenario: make sure your agent knows market value. The last thing you want is to get caught up with emotion. Overpaying could cause issue with a home appraisal from your lender.

The one side bar in this strategy is the chance you could receive a bully offer (also known as a pre-emptive offer). You can read more about what a bully offer in real estate is, and the pros and cons here.

As a seller, there are pro’s and con’s of holding offers:

Pros:

Holding offers gets top dollar and works best when there is a strong supply and demand imbalance- that is, many buyers and very few sellers.

The market, looking at MLS listings may have an idea of a price range but the sale price could be much higher as buyers compete with each other for this particular home.

In Ontario, all bids are sealed- in that, buyers only know the number of offers there are and no other additional information.

No specific details of price, closing date or even if it’s a conditional offer. This means that buyers are going in blind- and potentially paying significantly more for a house than the next best offer because they won’t know the other offer amounts.

An Australian model has home prices done as an auction. You know the price of the best offer and you can choose to beat that or not. Over the years, many believe that Canada needs to move to this model. However, doing so may have an immediate cooling effect on the market and mortgages.

Cons of holding offers

Sellers with this strategy need to show value to buyers so that you create a frenzied mentality. As mentioned, buyers have access to many tools these days like HouseSigma, where they can look at past prices.

Listing your home at market value and holding offers is not likely to give you the sale price you’d want. This is because buyers don’t see value in competing for a home that’s already at market value.

As an example: in a strong sellers market, a home is worth $500,000. The seller decides to list at the $450,000 price point and review offers after 7 days. The seller is hoping that the market will see value at $450,000, potentially bidding it up to over $500,000. 

However, listing at $500,000 and holding offers may not be a good idea. It won’t provide buyers with the value they’re looking for and they may be reluctant to submit an offer. After all, they compete and don’t want to pay “too much”.

Unfortunately first time home buyers are feeling the pinch. Many millennials are realizing the lowest priced homes seem to be the most competitive. In order to be competitive they need to drop some key offer components such as a home inspection or financing condition.

Another major con of holding offers is the worst case scenario of not actually receiving any offers. Or, receiving offers that are less than desired. This strategy is often avoidable by listing at an appropriate price from the start. The risk of not getting an offer on offer day is not receiving a full price offer, sometimes 5-10 per cent less than asking.

Working with Guelph real estate agents that know the market is key here. Sometimes, other market forces could thwart the effectiveness of holding offers. This could be something simple such as a similar home coming on the market at the same time as yours.

The strategy of an “irrevocable period” when buying a house

The other pricing strategy that comes into play with MLS listings is implementing an “irrevocable period”. What does this mean? Irrevocable means “not retractable” by the buyer. As a result, we find this is the best strategy coming out of a strong sellers market where holding offers is the norm.

Buyers may not want to compete for homes (buyers are frustrated and give up).

Let’s say a seller lists a home and requests that all offers come with a 48hr irrevocable. This means that the seller has asked the buyer to ensure their offer is valid for 48hrs from submission. 

As an example, if you submit an offer at 9am Monday. The seller in this case wants it valid through 9am on Wednesday. This will ensure that all other interested buyers have an opportunity to come through. Often times, this irrevocable period results in multiple offers anyways.

Pro’s of an irrevocable period:

The benefit of an irrevocable period is that the seller isn’t hanging their hat on a specific offer day. The irrevocable allows them to respond to offers sooner or later than an offer day strategy. In this way it’s like a rolling version of holding offers but without the risk. Once the first offer is submitted, the “clock” starts.

Coming out of a strong sellers market where most sellers are holding offers, an irrevocable period is a welcome strategy. Buyers feel like “they have a chance” without competing.

The other pro to an irrevocable is that you are listing your home at, or even slightly above market value. This signals that you know the market house prices and buyers looking at MLS listings with their Realtor will know this.

First time home buyers may find an irrevocable period to be a welcome relief to holding offers. As a result, you may find them more willing to submit an offer under this condition.

Cons of an irrevocable period

There are cons to an irrevocable period. As an example, let’s say buyer clients submits and offer on the house right after listing. The home receives less exposure because many buyers haven’t had a chance to see it.

This happens periodically, but even then Beth and Ryan have strategies for their seller clients to mitigate the impact of this situation.

Irrevocable pricing strategy also opens up the door to receiving a conditional offer. This may be on financing , inspection or even sale of property.

Your listing day of the week is crucial here. Instead of listing a home on a Monday with 48hrs irrevocable, aim to list on a Thursday afternoon. This will maximize the weekend and allow for out of town buyers.

Need a Guelph real estate agent?

Beth and Ryan Waller are Guelph Real estate agents, you can reach them here with any listing related questions you may have! Our team would be happy to help!