More Random Thoughts On Multiple Offers

When an ordinary house in mid-town Kingston attracts 21 offers (yes, twenty-one, and it happened today) it is because it is grossly underpriced. The listing brokerage’s intention, of course, was always to draw a frothing crowd, and along the way instil some false hope in buyers on a limited budget. If enough people offer, a high sale price will follow, that’s their way of thinking. And some self-congratulatory ads to drum up more business follow their sales as surely as night follows day. (The listing will also be off the books in a week, which means less work and no advertising money to spend). It’s an efficient, cruel business model.

Trouble is (and the reason for me punching so irritatedly here at the keyboard) is that I don’t think it sold for a cent more than it would have with a realistic price attached. And setting out to entice a crowd of people who can’t actually afford the house in question (whatever the sticker price says) is a really lousy idea these days. We should be avoiding unnecessary traffic, not encouraging it. And there’s more than enough false hope in the world right now without realtors adding to the problem.

Twenty buyers are disappointed this evening. And my guess is that at least half of that number never stood a chance. They just wasted some of their week, and were exposed - along with their realtors - to an encyclopaedia’s worth of smudged door handles and stale, closed-up rooms. Charming.