Are agents allowed to reveal other offers?

[Bargain Hunter]

Having been in the game for sometime it amazes me that some agents will tell you what other offers have been made (perhaps they make them up) while others will say it is unethical to reveal the current offer.

If I was selling a car and I was made an offer which I said, 'let me get back to you' and another person came along and said I'll top your best offer I wouldn't say, 'just give me your best offer' I'd either say, 'beat x or if you give my y it's yours'.

So what is the deal with REA's? Are they allowed to reveal offers or is this a no no?

PS: This is for interest only, I will continue to do my devilish best to weasel prices out of agents and circumvent the system where possible.

Regards

Andrew

 

[Propertunity]

So what is the deal with REA's? Are they allowed to reveal offers or is this a no no?

Andrew, REAs are contracturally obligated to get the highest price for their vendor. That's all.

I have had REAs tell me the reserve price of an auction a day before the auction day. I have had agents tell me what the other offers are. I have had agents tell me they cannot reveal what the other offers are but if I was to offer $x then my offer would be the highest. Am I going to ignore all that and take the high moral ground and cover my ears?....when I have a contractural obligation to use my best endeavours to get the lowest price possible for my client?

 

[softmonkey]

Not sure if you can compare cars to houses - if a seller tries too many funny games there's twenty other identical vehicles on carsales. You can't fudge the price (much) of a mass-produced item.

Rare classic cars though - you'll find the same secret auctions and other antics all designed to eke out the maximum price from emotional buyers.

 

[Luv2Travel]

My parents some years ago made an offer on a property, the agent was dealing with two offers, and was revealing each others offer, trying to up it even to $500 increments like a private auction. My father cracked the $hits and politely told the agent to get lost.

 

[JamesGG]

So what is the deal with REA's? Are they allowed to reveal offers or is this a no no?

Caveat; this is always going to be a legislative thing and so it may vary from state to state.

Down this end of the woods (which may or may not be of interest to you), I don't recall anything in the Vic legislation which prohibits the revelation of other offers. I do remember something though which states that the asking price on all marketing materials must be updated if an offer is knocked back by the vendor, when the price / range suggests that it should have been acceptable.

With all of that said, though, the agent is obliged to get the best price for his client; the vendor. This usually happens when the agent compels a buyer to make their best offer, rather than one just $1k or so above the previous mark.

 

[Lil Skater]

An agent can disclose other offers, I didn't read anything stating otherwise when studying for my course anyway.

Although, as James said. If a property is listed at $300k and someone offers $300k and the vendor knocks it back because they want $350k then it would have to be updated.

 

[cadence]

There is nothing stopping an agent revealing other offers, unless the vendor specifically asked him not to.

Generally, REAs dont have issues revealing offers which are genuinely put. They have nothing to lose by giving you that information and everything to gain given if you are interested you would put a higher amount (and he/she will get more in commission).

When REAs tell me there are offers and are evasive about the figures, more likely than not the offers were not solid or they are just b/s'ing - trying to make the property sound hotter than it is.

 

[The Y-man]

When REAs tell me there are offers and are evasive about the figures, more likely than not the offers were not solid or they are just b/s'ing - trying to make the property sound hotter than it is.

Actually, you just gave me a thought - I wonder how many people would believe the agent if the agent actually told them what the other offers were?

I'm likely to think, "Yeah, right..... in your dreams..."

The Y-man

 

[wobbycarly]

Isn't it incredible, though, how a place can sit on the market for ages, then when you show an interest "they just got an offer yesterday..."

 

[Bargain Hunter]

When REAs tell me there are offers and are evasive about the figures, more likely than not the offers were not solid or they are just b/s'ing - trying to make the property sound hotter than it is.

Especially when they look down and shift from foot to foot.