It’s a seller’s market in Silicon Valley right now. Many sellers are getting multiple offers and overbids, especially in Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Menlo Park. For home owners trying to maximize their sales price, does it make sense to have an “offer deadline”?
Maybe.
If you are pretty confident that you can get multiple offers, the deadline helps in a few ways.
- it prevents the offer situation from being a mere “foot race” (fastest one wins, rather than highest offer and best terms)
- it allows everyone enough time to see the house, read the inspections, disclosures etc.
- it provides enough time for the sellers and agents to plan
As with all strategic plans, this one can backfire too. If you or your agent publishes an offer deadline and then no bids are forthcoming, it’s more than just a let down. It’s a market signal that this home is overvalued by its owner and agent. Then, suddenly, it can appear to be an old or stale listing, even if it’s just been on the market 7 to 10 days.
Many real estate agents take a middle path, saying nothing about offers until agents ask. If they are asked, they will give a date in the future – usually a couple of days after the open house. But the MLS won’t say it for these agents unless they hear many buyers’ agents asking about offer presentation. They don’t want to look bad, they don’t want your house to look bad.
We never know until a property goes on the market how it will fare. It is wise to be cautious about advertising an offer date unless you are very certain that you will be seeing multiples! The market right now is a little funny. Homes priced aggressively are getting multiple offers. Homes priced AT value are not moving quite so fast. And homes price for values in spring of 2018 are not selling well at all.
