Buying a home in Metro Vancouver? New forms provide information about competing bids

Homebuyers in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley will soon know more about how many bids they’re competing against on a property.

Starting July 17, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board are implementing a new disclosure form for multiple offer situations.

Realtors and the home-sellers they represent must complete, sign and share with everyone who made an offer on the property.

The forms will list each of the competing offers that the home-seller received and the name of the real estate brokerage of record that submitted an offer on a client’s behalf — but not the actual offer. The disclosure form will not include the conditions or reason the seller accepted or rejected a particular offer.

The board says this is because they want to protect a home-seller’s negotiating position in the event that the sale fails to complete after accepting an offer.