So, if my seller had set a deadline of noon on a specific date, at that time I'd put together a summary of offers received/terms/etc, and discuss with the seller, and go with whatever he/she wants. Agents in today's environment should be asking for, and should be providing, highest and best. So further discussions with buyer agents shouldn't be necessary prior to discussing with seller.

Flathead County, Montana

Kathleen,

I thought the agent over disclosed.  We did not disclose the final price until title was recorded...and followed the same procedure as Raymond Henson, SRES, GRI . Santa Barbara County, CA

Standard procedure to let the buyers know that we have multiple offers and ask them to submit their highest and best offer.   Some increase it to the max, some decide to stick where they are, and a few back out.

it really has nothing to do with how I would handle it or what I tell agents.  That's a seller decision even when it's against my advice as long as it is not illegal it's what I must do.

I avoid having to make those calls and ask for highest and best from the start. That is if seller agreed to that at listing and didn't want to deal with multiple offers / counter offers. I would let other agents know seller accepted x offer and ask if any of them would like to remain as a back-up offer. VA Loudoun county. I wouldn't tell them the offer price because I know they would immediatley say something like " I wish you would have called me before accepting that offer, my buyer would have went up x thousands over that", etc.

The use of adding a deadline with the time and date that is not adhered to is fraught with liability. I will put them to use although the guidelines are strictly upheld & timely. From sunny Florida in Martin County.

I would have recommended to look closely at all three offers in hand, dissect everything (closing date, lender, downpayment, buyer's agent, etc...) and make a decision.  If they insist, I'd go forward with the following process:

If all three "highest and best" are so close to one another that the seller is unable to make a decision.  I would go back to all three and tell them that "all three are within a hair's breadth of each other in terms and price.  The sellers are asking for another round of 'highest and best', and if you're willing to modify your offers." and give them a resonable deadline.

The seller, of course, can give me direction to disclose who is the highest offer and by how much (to be told to all three, of course), but that would not be my recommendation.

I really don't get what I should comment on. The way it was handled is fine in my area.  In our area, we do not tell anyone the other offers except if seller requests it. It's blind - put in your best (highest & best here means it's your last chance) & that's it.

IL in Cook County

I would prepare a spread sheet of the offers, inform all selling agents this is a multipe offer situation, and all offers are being presented at such and such a time. It is a seller decision to aceept, reject, or counter.

Once the seller decides, I would respond accordingly. It is not my decision to make regardless of what I think.

I send my seller a spreadsheet of the offers to side by side compare.

I send the top 5 offers a counter offer customized to their offer.

I may send a generic counter the the next 3-5 to take a shot at an outlier stepping up to the bar set by the top 5.

I hate the "highest and best" amateur hour counter. I never use it.

Then the seller picks the best offer based on price, terms, buyer team of lender and agent and gut feeling about the buyer over and above the stats.

Overbids here are about 10%-15% of the value of the ones in Bay Area. 

San Mateo, CA native, former Bay Area REALTOR* - relocated from the insanity of the Peninsula's crazy overbid non-contingent market

to San Diego, CA.

I may have done a multiple counter offer and once I do that I usually let each agent decide with their clients what their highest and best is on their own.  I will be watching to see what everyone else has to say.  This is an interesting question for sure.

Elk Grove, California

This would be a situation where a multiple counter offer to all three agents stating - submit your highest, best and final offer would work out well. I would not disclose the final offer to the agents who didn't win the bid.  That happens only at close.

Arizona - Maricopa County - Phoenix

It's not all about the money necessarily.  With certain properties, you want to know it will close, and fast.  So how much is the buyer putting down on a loan? What about contingencies? Is buyer willing to release some? That's how you "win" here.  My buyers don't like to get into a bidding war. 

Now matter how one handles it - the key is, it's not the listing agents call. It's the seller's. The agent should inform the seller of the pros and cons of disclosing the various levels of data. Together the seller and listing agent agree on a plan of handling multiple offers and follow that plan. As it's possible that disclosing too much info may "backfire" and scare competing buyers away, or maybe they would have received more offers which may help with the appraisal etc - it's not the listing agent's call. The "pro" about disclosing alot is that it can save the time of a lot of buyers and their agents writing full price offers that don't have a chance. It is a "myth" that it's unethical to disclose the price and other terms of an offer unless that offer is from an in house buyer.

It really depends on sellers instructions how to proceed. You can give them the options including pros and cons and they can decide. I would never divulge the final contract price to other agents. They can find out when the transaction has closed. And a lot of things can happen until then...

Hernando County, FL

Floria, Pinellas
Highest and best is the most common approach after receipt of offers.
That is SOP.
I only disclose if list price has been reached and resond in 'rea estate agent-eese"_ when asked "How high do my buyers need to go?"
I do other modificatons that caution the winning bid to not go stupid.

Thanks for sharing this very interesting experience. 

I actually don't have an answer because a scenario like that would never happen to me... But, I find the other replies interesting... Lebanon County, PA

My take is when all offers are received, I send out a Thank You email to all of them and then I convince the seller to make everyone feel good and submit a Best And Final Counter Offer... yes it is a lot of work but people will feel good is that worth it to me YES:)) Beverly Hills  CA

So the seller got an additional $100,000 over the original best offer. Seems like the agent did a pretty good job for the sellers. Let's remember it is the seller for whom the listing agent is working. Let's assume that the LA discussed this strategy with the seller and the seller was on-board. The strategy worked but it could have backfired. The buyers could have thrown up their hands and withdrawn their offers. Yet...one of them wanted the house very badly.

Noting wrong with the LA's approach. Would I do the same? Every deal is different.

Alameda County, Ca.

In this Market , it’s best to post - All need to be in by __________ and will be presented on this date __________ .

First, I don't see any evidence of a discussion with the seller as to what they want to do at that point in time, that is prior to discussing with buyer agents. Buyer agents received too much information!

As an aside to over-disclosure - There is nothing in CO that makes an offer confidential. With the Seller's written permission, it may be in the Seller's best interest to disclose to other agents (PRIOR to the deadline) what the highest offer is. "We have an offer $25,000 over asking price." Then it's up to the Buyer whether or not they want to play the game by bidding more, but not waste everyone's time on a full-price offer that never had a chance of going anywhere. Of course there are hamster-wheel issues with this too, but I just wanted to present an additional idea.

El Paso County CO