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My mail carrier loves to chat about two things: Notre Dame athletics and real estate in the neighborhood.
As a Real Estate agent with 10 years of experience, obviously the more challenging conversation for me is the ND sports talk. I keep tabs on game scores and rankings just so it sounds like I know what I am talking about.! As for real estate, I do know what’s happening in the market.
This blog is dated 03/14/2023. I emphasize the date because the market is constantly changing and what I will write next is true only of current conditions. There are two main things that characterize the market right now: demand and lack of inventory. There are plenty of buyers out there (demand) and there are homeowners who are not selling (lack of inventory). This means correctly priced properties will receive multiple offers, despite the drastic increase in rates we have seen over the past year.
Agents for sellers (listing agents) should put out the “under contract” sign on the “For Sale” yard sign, but it doesn’t always happen. My mail carrier makes his rounds and checks in with me on the status. He wants to know – did they have an offer already? did they receive multiple bids?
Of course, his next logical question is: “How much did they get?”
This is where things get complicated: My response is “We’ll see when they close.”
He asked, “How come you don’t know? You’re in real estate!”
I explained: I have seen other agents disclose the sale price of properties, but I do not.
The main reason I do not reveal confidences is loyalty to my clients/sellers. The real estate transaction is a delicate procedure: sellers are selling what is likely their biggest financial investment. It involves money, home, and family. Emotions are wrapped up in that. The buyer is trying to buy his/her biggest investment, which is also a place for their family to live. So yes, emotions can run high. My job is to try to keep everything on track until the closing. I can’t be running around talking about money and bragging about what the bids were. Confidentiality is a vital component of the Realtor Code of Ethics.
Let’s go to the flip side – representing my buyers. For buyers, I want them to find and buy a house. In the current climate, this means they must compete with other buyers in multiple bids. And they will probably have to go through several multiple bids before they are successful. As their representative, I want to use all my knowledge to win that bid. If another agent is spilling the beans on the offers they receive, it is possible for buyers to submit a bid up until the closing day(!) on a property. Now things would get messy in the transaction if the seller is constantly entertaining new offers that are increasing the sale price.
So, ethics, confidentiality, and prevention of complications are the reasons I keep the winning bid secret until the closing day.
