How multiple offers work in Ontario: offer dates, bidding and what you are told

The short answer

A multiple offer situation, which the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) calls a competing offer situation, is what happens when more than one buyer is interested in the same home and their offers compete. With multiple offers in Ontario the rules give you one firm protection and leave a lot to the seller. If you have made an offer, you are entitled to know how many competing offers there are. Beyond that, the seller decides what is shared.

This guide is written for a first-time buyer in Markham who expects to face this at some point. It explains the vocabulary, the rules as RECO describes them and a checklist for the days before an offer night. We rely only on RECO pages we reviewed for this post. Where RECO does not say something, we say so rather than guess.

What is an offer date and what does holding offers mean?

Some sellers do not want to review offers as they arrive. They pick a date and time when all offers will be presented together. You will hear this called an offer date or holding offers. RECO uses the term delayed offer presentation process.

RECO’s bulletin on the topic says the seller’s agent must convey an offer to the seller as soon as possible after receiving it. The agent may delay only if the seller’s specific instructions are documented in a written direction. The bulletin also says the strategy depends on communicating the delayed offer presentation date and time to buyer’s agents and self-represented buyers.

RECO adds that no strategy is guaranteed to produce competing offers or the highest sale price. So an offer date is a choice the seller makes, not a promise of a bidding contest.

What must the seller’s agent tell you, and what stays private?

The one disclosure the rules require is the number of offers. RECO Bulletin 4.1 says the number of competing offers must be communicated to every person who is making one of the offers. RECO’s page for buyers says the same: the seller’s real estate agent is required to disclose the number of competing offers to all buyers who have submitted a written offer.

Two details matter:

• The requirement applies to written offers. RECO says a verbal offer is not a competing offer under the legislation.
• The disclosure is owed to people who are making an offer, so ask for the count once your offer is in.

If you are not sure you have been told the count, ask your representative to confirm it in writing before you sign anything.

RECO is just as direct about what stays private. Without the seller’s written direction, the seller’s agent is prohibited from sharing the content of offers. Agents are also prohibited from sharing the personal information of the person making an offer. RECO’s page on open offers adds that personal or identifying information in offers cannot be shared.

The table below summarizes what RECO says.

Item	What RECO says
Number of competing written offers	Must be communicated to every person making an offer
Content of offers, such as price and terms	Cannot be shared without the seller’s written direction
Personal or identifying information	Cannot be shared
Seller changing instructions	The seller retains the right to change their instructions and update the direction at any time

The last row has a practical consequence. RECO tells buyers that the seller can decide to share the content of offers at any time and that you may not know in advance. It also says buyers should not expect the content of other offers to be shared.

What is the open offer process?

RECO also uses the term open offer process. Its bulletin says the legislation does not address an open offer process. A seller may direct that all or parts of the content of offers be shared. RECO’s TRESA FAQs say that when a seller gives written direction, the content of offers or select parts of it must be shared with everyone making an offer. Sellers ultimately decide what parts of offers to share.

RECO says it enforces the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 (TRESA) for conduct that occurred on December 1, 2023 onwards. RECO also tells buyers that you decide whether you want to participate in a process where the content of your offer might be shared. It adds that your agent can tell you the steps to take to avoid having the content of your offer shared with other buyers. Ask about this before the offer date rather than on it.

Does the highest price always win, and should you drop conditions?

RECO says that a competing offer situation does not necessarily mean that a property will sell for more than the asking price. It also says that an offer that meets or exceeds the asking price will not guarantee that the offer is accepted.

That is as far as RECO goes. It does not list every factor a seller may weigh, so we will not claim to know what a particular seller will accept or reject. RECO does warn that a high offer may not be the best long-term financial decision for you.

We also will not suggest an amount to offer. That depends on your budget, your lender’s approval and the home itself. Our guide to the mortgage stress test in Markham explains how lenders test affordability. Our first-time buyer service page describes how we work with buyers on these decisions.

RECO also speaks to conditions. A condition is a clause that lets you back out of the deal if something is not satisfied. On its competing offers page RECO says that pre-qualifying for a mortgage does not safely eliminate the need for a financing condition in an offer. It also says foregoing a home inspection is a significant risk that a buyer needs to carefully consider.

Whether to include a condition is a decision for you, with advice from your representative and your real estate lawyer. For background on what an inspection does, read our guide to home inspections for Ontario buyers. For the money you put forward with an offer, see our post on the deposit on a house in Ontario.

What if you think the offer count was wrong?

RECO has a process for this. If you made an offer, you can ask RECO to confirm the number of competing offers. The agent who represented a buyer who made an offer can also ask. RECO says it does not accept inquiries about the number of competing offers from any other person.

The request goes through RECO’s online complaint process. RECO says to include the address of the property and to say whether you were a buyer who submitted an offer or the agent for one. Include any documents or correspondence about the offer count. RECO says it asks the seller’s brokerage to confirm how many offers it received and that, if you qualify to make the inquiry, it shares its findings with you.

Does it matter if you have an agent or not?

RECO says there are significant risks to representing yourself in a real estate transaction if you do not have the knowledge and expertise required to navigate the transaction on your own. It lists navigating competing offer situations among the things a self-represented party handles alone.

RECO also explains that an agent working for the seller has a duty to do what is best for the seller. That agent is obligated to share anything you tell them with the seller, including the minimum or maximum price you are willing to offer or accept.

RECO’s bulletin on self-represented parties adds that agents are prohibited from providing services, opinions or advice to a self-represented party in respect of a trade, including advice on the price, terms or clauses to include in an offer. Our buyers page explains how we work with buyers who want a representative of their own.

A checklist before offer night

• Ask your representative to confirm the offer date and time and how offers will be presented.
• Ask whether the seller has given written direction to share offer content.
• Decide in advance whether you are willing to take part if the content of your offer might be shared.
• Confirm your maximum budget with your lender and set it before the pressure of the night.
• Talk through each condition with your representative and your lawyer before you drop one.
• Check that your deposit funds are ready and that you understand the due time.
• Ask for the number of competing offers in writing once you have submitted.
• Keep copies of every communication about the offer count.

This article explains how the rules work in general and is not legal advice. Your lawyer should confirm how they apply to your offer. If you would like to prepare for an offer night with us, contact us.