Resident real estate expert Keith MacDonald from Harcourts Grenadier Real Estate provides some advice when it comes to navigating competition in a property sale.

Regular followers of my column will know I have broached many moving parts of the pre-sale process designed to generate interest and competition in a property sale: marketing strategies, staging, photography, and Harcourts’ strong network. All of which drive buyers into negotiation for sale. Multiple offer scenarios create opportunities for a sale to go above the asking price with the possibility of additional terms, giving further options in the selection of a closing offer.

How well the negotiations and final offer submissions are managed can influence higher or lower figures and the overall success with respect to buyers and sellers. Exceptional outcomes are easily dissolved if the process is done incorrectly or without blueprints.

Procedural fairness governs the shape of how the whole process moves. By signing the multiple offer declaration form, interested buyers formally enter the process and acknowledge the deadline for final offer submission. All offers will be presented to the vendor at a predetermined time. Buyers maintain and organise their own due diligence.

We want all interested buyers to have their chance to close, and avoid any loss of confidence or withdrawals from the sale. This must be handled with care. Additional buyers often enter into the scenario as our network captures market interest even when a sale is developing. So ongoing channels of communication are essential, ideally multiple times a day. This alleviates miscommunications, ensures parties run at the same speed, and gives buyers confidence in maintaining or altering their sale position. A great team helps service this stage when it becomes busy. 

Informing and negotiating with buyers engaged in a sale is a delicate act because it is the source of uncomfortable conversations.

A buyer can only be informed if they know exactly what their win condition is likely to hinge on. Disclosing exact offers between parties is a transgression, but I make it clear to buyers that winning offers are usually 10 per cent above asking price, sometimes more, and are bolstered with amenable terms to a motivated seller. Part of balancing this dialogue is to encourage buyers to consult with their own legal and technical experts to add impartiality and objectivity to their final decision.

Our role here is to gently nudge buyers into putting their best foot forward so they make an offer they consider their best and know that they arrived at their final position carefully and comfortably with no hesitation. This applies to other sales models, like the auction process too. 

The perfect negotiation in a multiple offer sale is when all parties are content. We aim to have each buyer present an offer they are comfortable with, and the owner receiving offers that meet or exceed their expectations. All the careful pre-sale process work that drives a property onto the market and into a competitive situation must be handled with competent administration and experience to determine the best sale possible.