How Can You Tell if The Estate Agent Is Bluffing or Not?

Lhydravirgo on 24/02/2022 - 15:56
Last edited 02/03/2022 - 11:51 by 1 other user

I have put down an offer on a land in Melbourne's eastern suburb.

It is a reasonable offer in the middle of the advertised asking price. Initially he said there were other enquiries as well and he will check if anyone else wants to offer. Today I got an update that they have received another offer as well and the vendor will choose between both. I can afford to offer a bit more but I am not sure if they have received a real offer or is it just a bluff to make me offer higher.

So my question is, has anyone else been in a similar situation? and what will you do?

Edit:
Thank you all for your replies. We ended up pulling our offer due to some big costs coming to light.

Edit:
For whoever is interested, its been a week after pulling our offer for that land and it still hasn't been updated to under offer. So that second offer was definitely a bluff. Feel like I dodged a bullet there.

Home & Garden Real Estate Agent

Comments

      • Drakesy on 24/02/2022 - 19:38
        -2

        Are you sure about that?

        Average house prices over there are only $520k lets not forget. Not the $1 million that it is here.

        But hey, feel free to believe the propaganda machine.

    • buckethat on 24/02/2022 - 19:53

      Not sure if you saw the bank's forecast of last year.

      It was the polar opposite of what happened.

  • GourmetFoodie on 24/02/2022 - 19:32
    +1

    In this market I’d be surprised if it was a lie.
    Just depends how badly you want the land. I wouldn’t say exceed your budget or even offer your maximum budget but offer what you’d be pissed to have lost out for.

  • yellowfever on 24/02/2022 - 22:01

    in the game of negotiations, I play by the 'meet halfway' tactic
    up you offer by half the difference of the next alleged offer and tell them that is the best you can do. However it depends on what the difference actually is and the timing of your offer, if its $1,000 and you up by $500 it's not really looking like strong tactic, however if this is your absolute stretched and final offer, it may work but there's always a risk element to lose the property.

  • 50centscheaper on 24/02/2022 - 22:54
    +3

    It's hard to tell. From the agent perspective, I think they care more about volume than price, meaning they would want to close the deal quickly and move on to the next house.

    He might only make extra $200 (assume 2% commission) from a $10k increase offer. If I were the agent , I wouldn't risk to make $200 more and make you walk away from the deal.

  • Ghost47 on 24/02/2022 - 23:29
    +1

    Just ask “are they breathing?” That’ll answer your question.

  • baker bob on 25/02/2022 - 01:22

    I always assume it's a bluff and call it which means my reply to a counter offer is always "I won't be countering but grats on the sale, see you around.", most times I'm wrong but the times I'm right make for good stories such as the property that got passed in this week because no one registered to bid, should have taken my offer……

  • gromit on 25/02/2022 - 07:25
    +8

    yes been there multiple times including as recently as last month. The reality is all you can do is put what your best offer is down. Last month I did that and was told they had better offers and loads of interest etc etc, my offer was rejected a few days later. however no misgivings, I offered what I was willing to pay, a few weeks later they came back to me wanting me to up my offer again as obviously it hadn't sold, then earlier this month they came back to me wanting to accept my offer (by which time it was off the table). Not upset with how it went, I offered what I thought was fair and slightly above value, they rejected and I moved on. The thing to be cautious off don't live in regret, if they have a slightly higher offer for real are you going to be upset you didn't offer more? are you just trying to save a buck or are you truly offering what you are willing to pay?

    • Lastchancetosee on 25/02/2022 - 08:19
      +1

      What a bunch of creeps.

    • saltypete on 25/02/2022 - 08:58
      +1

      We roll that way too, and it works for us. Fair offer, take it or leave it, move on. There’s always other properties.

  • JIMB0 on 25/02/2022 - 07:42

    Have you looked at recent comparable sales to determine the true value of the property? Is your offer bellow this price?

  • Vote for Pedro on 25/02/2022 - 07:52

    You can’t. Determine what you want to pay for the place and stick to it. Sucks though.

    I stuck to my price when agent said he had an offer only a couple of grand more and encouraged me to up my offer a bit. Sale data showed he was being genuine and he even called after apologising we missed out. Generally a decent bloke. I just assumed he was being a typical agent. Who knows maybe he was and if I offered more he’d have gone to the other party with the same story. But thats the point you can’t know for sure.

    Only go as high as you are willing to pay. If you stick to that, then you will have no regrats ;)

    Be careful though in a hot market.

  • [Deactivated] on 25/02/2022 - 07:54

    I thought it was illegal to do that

  • TheBird on 25/02/2022 - 07:56

    Just ask, what was the other persons offer?

    Worse case, you don't get the information.

    I've had an agent do that to me. I thought to myself, "You expect me to bid against myself?" and left the offer the same. That being said, I offered a quick settlement which they accepted.

  • gbarlett on 25/02/2022 - 08:39

    How Can You Tell if The Estate Agent Is Bluffing or Not?
    Easy….if his lips are moving…..then he is bluffing.

    • DARK KHAOS on 25/02/2022 - 09:17

      or lying

    • MikeKulls on 26/02/2022 - 08:49

      I saw my real estate agent don't, he got one vendor $70k over the other by telling them a little bit more was required to seal the deal

  • Pedro123 on 25/02/2022 - 08:41

    Happened to me 17 years back when buying , I upped my offer by 20k when told there was other strong interest in property and I in the end was "successful" . Almost certain the agent was lying which is what they are best at . When you lie in your business all day long then one more is nothing - and wheres the harm anyway ?

  • 91rs on 25/02/2022 - 09:45
    +1

    Everything any RE says is always a lie.

  • bocca on 25/02/2022 - 10:03

    Apparently it's illegal for an agent to say there is another offer when there is not.

    Keep upping your offer by $100 or $1000 depending on how much of a troll/funny you want to be. Eventually you beat the other offer.

    Sometimes people bid their max offer, so beating them by $1000 is enough to knock them off. Usually it takes two increases to secure the W

  • KaTst3R on 25/02/2022 - 10:34
    -2

    When an agent says they have an offer without giving you a number and the buyer will choose between both is a clear lie. Because the buyer wont need to choose if the other side is clearly higher. They will just say we have X offer on the table and are you willing to go higher. That is when you know there is a real one on other than yours.

    • MrFunSocks on 25/02/2022 - 11:16
      +2

      That's not at all true. It's not an auction, you don't get told what the competing offers are. In fact they're not allowed to tell you by law.

      • KaTst3R on 25/02/2022 - 12:05

        The majority of the REA should be in jail then.

        • MrFunSocks on 25/02/2022 - 14:24

          I don't think it's punishable by jail time haha. Most people wouldn't report them because them telling you the competing bids actually helps you, which is directly against who they're working fors interests.

          Remember - REAs work for the seller, not the buyer. Their job is to get the best offer possible, through combinations of price and settlement terms.

    • Quantumcat on 25/02/2022 - 11:47

      Offers may come with different conditions: subject to finance, subject to building inspection or unconditional, different people (eg family who will enjoy the house for a decade or a developer who wants to knock it down), long settlement or immediate settlement, subject to selling their current house etc.

  • cashless on 25/02/2022 - 10:55
    +1

    How Can You Tell if The Estate Agent Is Bluffing or Not?

    Easy, did their lips move?

  • MrFunSocks on 25/02/2022 - 11:15

    If you want the property but think they're bluffing and don't increase your offer then you take the risk that they're not bluffing. In this market they're probably not.

  • FareEvader on 25/02/2022 - 11:32
    -1

    If their lips are moving, they are lying.

  • Tvsupaguru on 25/02/2022 - 13:51

    to be quite honest, this is where I do prefer property auctions over "for sale". At least at an auction I know that anyone with any serious consideration of buying is there. And their best offer is totally open and disclosed at the third call. No hiding behind "We have a better offer on the table".

    I have purchased a few properties at Auction, and I have found that swift, fast, decisive bids, are the best approach. It intimidates other buyers that you a steadfast in your desire to buy, that you are stronger, and have deeper pockets - it has the effect to scare off the competition. Dont sit there for ages contemplating that extra $500 bid increase, the real estate agents loves you for this as you are pushing the price up and allowing your competitor more time to think and contemplate, and make a counter. Waste of effort. Go hard, go fast, go first, without hesitation till you are the winner, or reach your max and pull out.

    The flip side is at a "for Sale" you get the opportunity to save a few $ as the seller may not be 100% confident of how high their property may go, at a public aution, and not everyone is putting their absolute "best offer" forward, so they may take the bird in hand

    Swings and round abouts

    • MrFunSocks on 25/02/2022 - 14:27
      +2

      The other and biggest downside of an auction is that you're locked in with no wiggle room for finance etc.

      When we were buying we put in an offer and the next day the REA came back to us saying the seller has another offer, will take a "best and final offer" from both parties, and will decide on that by close of business tomorrow. The REA said the offers were close, and the sellers were really more interested in terms. Said in no uncertain terms that if we were to waive the finance clause and essentially sign an "auction contract" we would get the property if the other refused to do so, even if they were higher. We didn't feel comfortable doing that, my wife thought they were bluffing and there was no other offer. We said no sorry we'll keep the same offer, and literally an hour later got a call saying they accepted the other offer, and the house was marked as sold the next day.

  • Name on 25/02/2022 - 14:35

    Depends how much you want the property. If you really want it, i wouldnt call the REA bluff in case they arent lying. Sounds like you can afford more, so id just offer a bit more.

  • OzHunterNSW on 25/02/2022 - 14:54

    They are car salesmen… at the end of the day…. it is about fleecing you.

    Take their bluff… tell them YOU have other options, YOU will get bat to them, YOU hold the cards

  • Brick Tamland on 25/02/2022 - 14:58

    Tell them you want to withdraw your offer and see if the agent panics. Call the bluff. Or just go to your final offer and rest easy that you gave it your best shot.

  • ribze1 on 25/02/2022 - 15:33
    +1

    All offers should be legally binding and publicly available, means no games from REAs and no BS offers.

  • IanC on 25/02/2022 - 16:01
    -1

    Would you trust Putin over a real estate agent?

  • AKasemi on 25/02/2022 - 16:26
    +1

    Same thing happened to me, agent said there was another offer. I said they were bluffing and lost the dream house cause of $2500.

  • lflzg on 25/02/2022 - 16:38

    I may be wrong, but why the agent gonna lie about this? what will they get?

    I bought and sold quite a few places, in my experience REA never intend to squeeze last cent out of the buyer from my point of view, they just want to seal the deal and quicker better so they can move to the next. REA may bluff buyer to sign a contract, or bluff to get you raise price to make it a contract when seller is quite firm on their price, its all about getting the property sold

    OP already signed the contract seller is considering the offer, so to me it is just a standard notification. REA has to tell you there is another offer by their guideline and that is it. I would bet the agent probably has shifted his/her focus on another property.

    As the market is so hot these days, REA doesnt care if you are going to get the property or not because they know the property will be sold under multiple offers thats good enough for them. They didnt tell you if you offer is better or worse because they have to do more if you want to raise offer, and they only get few hundred extra commission.

  • whirlpool_guy on 25/02/2022 - 18:07
    -1

    9 in 10 are bluff.

    1 in 10 you miss out, and there will be a better buy in a few weeks.

  • Herbse on 25/02/2022 - 18:54

    How Can You Tell if The Estate Agent Is Bluffing or Not?

    If their mouth is open.

  • Yiddos on 25/02/2022 - 21:29

    There is always another plot of land. I would just stick to what I am willing and able to pay, plus a limited buffer, then see how it goes.

    Don't let emotions get the better of your negotiation.

    Remember, there is always another plot of land.

  • Bills22 on 25/02/2022 - 22:39

    I'm not sure whether it was luck but for one purchase I put in an 3 offers total.
    1st was fine
    2nd was fine
    Final one got through. Agent said years later the deal was sealed as I had better terms and was ready to go whereas the other parties had nothing ready.

    I think it's just probing a bit harder with the Agent and get a feel of what your position is at. Unfortunately they will hardly give a figure. You can then push on or back off from there.
    Another - I just ended up pulling out after 2nd round offer as I didn't feel the need to be pressured for a higher price. It was still a nice house. Oh wells!~

    I agree anyway - some are full bluff. They will huff and puff… Once we did a viewing and I knew more about the place and area than the Agent.

  • Kranbone on 26/02/2022 - 14:20

    It's a standard response from an agent to get you to second guess yourself.

    Just note a few things:
    1// Value the house fairly and make an offer based on that. Rephrase, make an offer you won't regret (ie, not over offering, but not under offering either and missing out).
    2// There will always be other houses in future, it's not the only house.
    3// The market shifts, which means, other houses which may be available in future may cost more/less.

    You can respond to the selling agent saying
    "Thanks for the update. Can you advise when the seller will make a decision as while I am interested in the property, as it's just one of the options I'm considering."

  • Some Guy on 26/02/2022 - 15:14
    +1

    Even if you're at an auction you won't know if they're bluffing, fabricating bids/offers out of thin air or taking bids from the lamp post or stooge. There is absolutely no way you'll know if another offer exists.

  • Hairy Nosed Wombat on 27/02/2022 - 02:01

    The question isn't what can you afford. Its what is the property worth? To know that you need to know the market and comparable sales and then you are in a position to negotiate.

  • Cheesysmiles on 27/02/2022 - 02:40

    In instances where you don't know if there are other higher offers, always offer an amount which you would have no regrets on if it sold for a higher price.

    Bluffs or no bluffs from the REA become irrelevant…

  • Powderhound303 on 27/02/2022 - 14:37
    +1

    Ok I’ve bought 6 properties and sold 4. I’ve worked with buyers agents and selling agents. A good agent is hard to beat so best not to play adversarial attitude, better to be friendly but talk sensibly. Your attitude is important most times to getting the deal you want.

    Set a price limit on the property and be prepared to stump up the money to buy it. You will never know the truth about another buyer or offer.

    Also put all offers in writing to the agent and an deadline for a response. Ie my offer is $955,000 and good for 24 hours.

    If you think you hold hold the upper hand then I also tell the agent this is my best, first and final offer. That way they know where you stand.

    Don’t be afraid to lose a deal. There’s always another place to buy. But don’t get too cocky or too cheap or too rude.

  • Mumbles on 27/02/2022 - 17:32

    OP follow your gut. If you feel the REA is untrustworthy then best not to believe what he says. The most likely scenario is there was maybe one or two buyers not wanting to budge from identical offers. That the dodgy REA was playing you all and found the weakest FOMO buyer. Are you going to feel bad that a dodgy REA twisted some poor buyers arm more than yours?

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