It’s the scenario every home seller dreams of. After meticulously preparing your home and pricing it strategically, your real estate agent calls with the news: “We have multiple registered offers.” This is the moment when all your hard work pays off, placing you firmly in the driver’s seat of the negotiation.

While being in a multiple-offer situation, commonly known as a bidding war, is an enviable position, it can also be a high-pressure and complex event. Navigating it effectively to maximize your sale price while adhering to strict ethical and legal rules is crucial. This guide will provide you with a step-by-step strategy for handling multiple offers in Ontario, with a focus on the modern rules that govern the process in 2025.

Setting the Stage for Success

A successful offer night begins long before the offers arrive. The groundwork you lay at the start of the selling process is key.

  • Strategic Pricing: The most common way to generate multiple offers is through a deliberate pricing strategy. By working with your agent to price your home correctly for the Ontario market, often at a compelling value, you can attract a wide pool of interested buyers.
  • Clear Instructions: Before your home is listed, you should provide your agent with clear, written instructions on how to handle offers. This includes your decision on whether you are willing to entertain early, pre-emptive “bully offers,” or if you will only look at offers on your designated presentation date. These instructions are typically documented in the listing agreement.

The Offer Process: Rules, Procedures, and Your Big Decision

When multiple offers are in play, your real estate agent must follow a strict process governed by the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA).

1. Offer Registration and Notification: As each buyer’s agent prepares to submit an offer, they will “register” it with your agent. Your agent must then, in turn, notify every other agent who has expressed interest in the property that there are now multiple offers. They will disclose the number of registered offers, but nothing else—at this stage.

2. The Big Decision: A “Blind” or “Transparent” Process? This is a critical decision that you, as the seller, must make before reviewing the offers. Under the TRESA rules, you have two primary ways to conduct the offer presentation:

  • Option A: The Traditional “Blind” Process. In this scenario, you review the details of all offers, but the contents (price, conditions, etc.) of each offer are kept confidential from the other competing buyers. They know how many offers they are up against, but nothing about the substance of those offers.
  • Option B: The New “Transparent” Process. With your express written permission, you can direct your agent to share details of the competing offers with all the buyers who have submitted one. This could include the price, conditions, closing date, and deposit amount. This effectively turns the process into a more open, auction-style negotiation.

Your Strategic Options After Reviewing the Offers

Once you and your agent have reviewed all the initial offers, you have three main strategic paths you can take.

1. Accept the Best Offer As Is: If one offer is clearly superior to all others—perhaps it’s a high-priced firm offer with a large deposit and your ideal closing date—you can simply accept it. This is the cleanest and quickest resolution.

2. Reject All Offers: If none of the offers meet your expectations in terms of price or conditions, you are under no obligation to accept any of them. You can reject all offers and continue to market your property.

3. Send Offers Back for Improvement (The Most Common Strategy): This is the heart of a bidding war. If you have several strong offers, you can give the buyers an opportunity to improve them. You can either work exclusively with one buyer by sending back a counter-offer, or, more commonly, you can invite a selection of the top contenders (or all of them) to submit a revised, final offer by a specific deadline. This is where your choice of a “blind” vs. “transparent” process has the biggest impact on the dynamic of the negotiation.

Evaluating the Offers: It’s Not Just About the Highest Price

The winning offer is not always the one with the highest number. A savvy seller evaluates the entire package.

  • Conditions: A firm, no-conditions offer is significantly less risky than a conditional offer. The certainty of a done deal can often be worth more than a slightly higher price on a conditional offer that might fall through.
  • Deposit: A larger deposit signals that the buyer is serious and has strong financial backing.
  • Closing Date: A buyer who can accommodate your preferred closing date is providing you with valuable convenience that can be a deciding factor between two otherwise similar offers.

Navigating a multiple-offer situation successfully puts you in a position of incredible strength. It’s a fast-paced and high-stakes environment, but by understanding the rules, considering your strategic options carefully, and leaning on the expert guidance of your real estate agent, you can manage the process effectively and achieve an outstanding result for the sale of your home.