Lower Mainland real estate boards introduce disclosure form for multiple offer situations

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An upcoming change by real estate boards in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley promises to bring slightly more transparency to bidding wars over properties in the region.

Beginning on July 17, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board will implement a disclosure form that must be completed in cases when there are multiple offers for a property.

The "Disclosure of Multiple Offers Presented Form" will list the offers that a seller received and the brokerage of record that submitted them. What it won't include, however, is the amount offered or any conditions that came with it.

The selling Realtor and homeowner will be required to sign the form and share it with everyone who submitted an offer "no later than one calendar day" after the seller accepts an offer.

In a statement announcing the new form, the real estate boards said it seeks to balance buyers' rights to transparency and disclosure with sellers' rights to privacy.

“This new form will help confirm and bring comfort to prospective home buyers in the region that every offer was fairly presented and considered in the process,” said Jeff King, CEO of the REBGV, in the statement.

“The real estate profession believes that this change will help inform the public and build greater trust in the real estate transaction process – specifically in instances when competition and emotion run highest.”

According to the real estate boards, the lack of disclosure of price or conditions in the form is intended "to protect a home seller's negotiating position" if an accepted offer falls through.

Bidding wars have been a common feature of the real estate market in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley for years, and the boards say limited supply and increasing prices mean multiple offer situations "are becoming more prevalent."

“The implementation of this new disclosure is the result of considerable research and discussion by a committee of brokers and Realtors since the record-breaking market activity we experienced during the pandemic,” said Baldev Gill, CEO of the FVREB, in the statement.

“By providing a record of the number of offers received, this change aims to increase buyers’ confidence in the process by demonstrating that their offers are always presented and considered by the seller.”