Agents stretching the truth to get higher bids?

Profile picture for decker1977
I recently made an offer on a home. The seller countered me at a price I was not willing to pay. After I declined, the seller's agent advised another buyer would be taking the deal at the countered price that I declined. That was over 3 weeks ago and the house is still actively for sale on the MLS. What's the deal?
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August 23 2012 - Staten Island
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Answers (7)

Profile picture for decker1977
Thank you everyone for your responses. I feel better knowing that I was not just being paranoid. The most frustrating thing about it is that my offer was not that far off from the counter so if the other deal fell through, I'm surprised the sellers agent did not try to reach out to me again. Basically my offer included the same price they wanted, but with concessions. The concessions killed the deal. She seemed like a really stubborn agent which makes the situation even more annoying, but I guess if I was the seller, that attribute would favorable. Thanks again everyone!
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August 24 2012
A property is (should) always be shown till a contract is fully signed. Either party can change their mind untill they sign.
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August 24 2012
It didn't happen.

There doesn't have to be anything nefarious - we've all had lots of buyers who were ready to make an offer, but when we sat down at the table, decided not to.

The problem with an agent trying to create a false sense of urgency is that 1) it's false, and 2) it can scare away a better buyer than the one you already have.

Why not go with the probability that, you didn't accept the counter, there was another buyer and when they found out that you had backed off, they decided to, as well?

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August 23 2012
I truly want to believe that an agent wouldn't make up another buyer, but I also want to believe that all politicians are good people trying to look out for the betterment of society.  

It could be either of the answers stated.  It could be that something happened to the other buyer (they didn't qualify at that amount, they got cold feet, etc.) and they bugged out.  It could be that the agent just hasn't changed it in the system (which is against the rules in most MLSs, but it happens).  It could be any of a million different scenarios.  Annoyingly, you will probably never know.  If the agent is ethical, then they were telling you the truth and something went sideways after the counter offer.  If they aren't, you will never get a straight answer.

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August 23 2012
Often a property will remain on 'Active' status even though an offer has been accepted. Many agents will continue to market the property until inspection contingencies (and some other) contingencies have expired. In some MLS systems it will show up as 'Active with contingency' but it rarely shows up on public websites in this way.

Or it's possible that both parties rejected the sellers price. I prefer to believe that agents aren't so stupid as to lie about 'another offer' but stupid things still happen in real estate.
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August 23 2012
Profile picture for decker1977
Thank you for your response, Sunnyview!! That's the sense I got as well. I felt she was trying to create a panic in me and that turned me off. I had the first offer in the door, but the seller's agent came back and said she was countering mine and another offer at the same counter price and whoever jumped first would get the deal. I understand that she needs to get the best deal for the seller, but isn't purposely trying to start a bidding war just bad business?
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August 23 2012
Profile picture for sunnyview
Deal is that the agent may have been trying to press you or create false urgency so you would "compete" to get the house. If the seller wanted more than you were willing to pay, then you did the right thing to walk away. Never let a manufactured bidding war cloud your judgement. 
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August 23 2012
 

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