About “open offers”

You may have seen articles in the media about open bidding, or an open offer process. 

Buyers in Ontario who have made an offer on a property are entitled to know the number of competing offers. 

Sellers choose how much other information, if any, they want to share about the offers they receive. Sellers are not required to share this information, and agents working for sellers are not permitted to share any of the content of the offers unless the seller directs them to.

Buyers should not expect the content of other offers to be shared or, if shared, that the information will include the offer price. Remember, the seller decides.

If you are a seller

• You decide how much information you want to share about the competing offers.
• Your agent will advise you based on the characteristics of your property, market conditions, the content of the offers you receive and other things.
• You need to provide clear written direction to your agent before the content of any offers can be shared. Personal or identifying information contained in offers cannot be shared.

If you are a buyer

• You decide whether you want to participate in a process where the content of your offer might be shared with other buyers. 
• Your agent can tell you the steps to take to avoid having the content of your offer shared with other buyers.
• Be aware that the seller can make the decision to share the content of offers at any time. You may not know in advance. You may not know what parts of the offers will be shared.