Published 10 September 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
Price is only one of six levers, and it is the most expensive one. Under O. Reg. 567/05 s. 22.7 a brokerage must tell every person making a written offer how many competing written offers there are, and must share their substance only if the seller directs — never in a way that identifies another buyer. Use the deposit, the closing date, the condition set and the offer’s cleanliness before you use dollars. Then set a walk-away number in writing before offer night and honour it.
What the other side is allowed to tell you
Ontario moved to optional open bidding on 1 December 2023, and the rules are more specific than most buyers realise.
- The number of competing written offers must be disclosed to every person making one. This is mandatory, not discretionary.
- The substance of those offers may be shared only if the seller directs it, and the seller may direct that only parts be shared.
- Nothing shared may include personal information or anything that would identify the person making an offer.
So “there are three offers and I cannot tell you anything else” is the law working normally, not an agent being difficult. If the seller has opened their offers, you will be told. If they have not, no amount of pressure changes it, and an agent who leaks the contents anyway has told you exactly how they would treat your information.
The six levers, in the order you should reach for them
1. The deposit
There is no legal minimum and no fixed percentage in Ontario — the amount is negotiated in the offer. A larger deposit is read as evidence that the buyer has organised funds and has more to lose by not closing, which is genuine information about risk. It is one of the few ways to strengthen an offer without raising the price. Constrain it only by what you can actually certify inside the window the agreement specifies, and by how much you are willing to have tied up if things go badly.
2. The closing date
Free to you, and sometimes decisive. Ask what the seller wants. An owner who has firmed up on a purchase needs a matching date; an estate sale may need time; an investor with a tenant needs to work around notice periods. Matching their date can beat several thousand dollars.
3. The condition set
Each condition you drop moves risk from the seller to you. Know the price of each before you give it away.
| Condition | What dropping it costs you |
|---|---|
| Financing | Your deposit, and potentially more, if the lender declines — including for reasons about the building rather than about you |
| Status certificate review | You accept the corporation’s reserve fund, litigation, rules and any contemplated special assessment sight unseen |
| Inspection | Less critical on a newer condominium; real on an older unit where in-suite HVAC, plumbing and windows are yours |
| Insurance | Rarely decisive, occasionally so on a building with claims history |
| Sale of your property | The strongest condition to give up, and the one sellers weigh most heavily |
If you must go firm, do the work in advance: order and review the status certificate before offer night where possible, have a live mortgage file rather than a portal rate hold, confirm insurability, and know in writing how much of a low appraisal you could absorb in cash.
4. The cleanliness of the paperwork
An offer that arrives complete, correctly filled out, with the deposit arrangements clear and the schedule free of unusual clauses, is easier for a listing agent to recommend than one that needs three phone calls. This costs nothing and it matters more than buyers believe.
5. The irrevocable period
A short irrevocable puts pressure on the seller to decide; a longer one gives them room to work with other buyers. Neither is automatically right. In a multiple-offer situation the seller sets the process anyway, so this lever matters most outside of one.
6. Price
Last, because it is the only lever that costs you real money and the only one you cannot get back.
Thinking about buying or selling here?
I work this area every week and I will give you a straight answer, including when the answer is to wait. No pressure, and no drip campaign you cannot get out of.
Call or text 833-330-1925 Send me a message
Jatin Dua, Broker of Record — RE/MAX Quantum Realty Inc., Brokerage. Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract with another brokerage.
Reading the list price honestly
List price in this market is a strategy, not a valuation, and there are three distinct strategies in play across Etobicoke condominiums at any given time.
- Priced to sell at or near list. Common in slower conditions and in buildings with a lot of comparable inventory. Your offer should be close to list and win on terms.
- Priced below market with an offer date. The list price is bait; the market sets the number. Ignore the list price entirely and price off comparable sold data.
- Priced above market. Either the seller is testing, or an agent bought the listing with an optimistic number. These often become the best buys sixty days later.
Which one you are looking at is usually obvious from days on market, from whether there is an offer date, and from what genuinely comparable units in the same building actually sold for.
Comparables in a condominium are narrower than you think
In a house, comparable sales come from the surrounding streets. In a condominium the comparable set is often the same building, and sometimes the same stack. Two units in one tower can differ by six figures on view, floor and exposure alone.
Insist on comparables that match on:
- the same building, or a directly comparable building of the same era and fee structure;
- exposure — north, south, east or west;
- floor, and whether the unit is above the podium;
- view corridor, and whether it is protected;
- parking and locker — owned, exclusive use, rented, or none;
- layout efficiency and true usable square footage;
- whether the unit has been renovated, and how recently.
A sold price from the same building three weeks ago is worth more than ten sales from elsewhere in Etobicoke.
What actually persuades a seller
Once the price is competitive, sellers choose on certainty. From their side, the questions are: will this close, will it close on time, and will the process be difficult?
Things that read as certainty:
- a substantial deposit, deliverable as certified funds within the window;
- a lender letter that reflects a real underwritten file, not a rate hold;
- fewer conditions, with short and realistic periods on any that remain;
- a closing date that matches what the seller asked for;
- an agent the listing side can reach and who does what they said they would.
Things that do not: a personal letter about how much you love the unit, which is also a fair housing risk and which many brokerages will not pass on; an offer well below list with an aggressive rationale attached; or an expiry designed to corner the seller.
An offer-night checklist
- Confirm with the listing brokerage how the process will run and whether the seller has directed that offer contents be shared.
- Get the number of competing written offers — you are entitled to it.
- Ask what closing date the seller wants.
- Confirm parking and locker status in writing: owned, exclusive use, or rented.
- Confirm current common expenses and whether any special assessment is levied or contemplated.
- Have your deposit arranged as certified funds, deliverable inside the window.
- Decide your walk-away number and write it down.
- Submit complete, clean paperwork, early.
The Etobicoke context
TRREB reported an average Etobicoke sale price of $1,049,793 across 243 sales in August 2026, across all property types, with condominium apartments generally trading well below that figure. Conditions differ sharply by corridor: Humber Bay Shores and the Queensway carry more standing inventory in most months than the older Rexdale, Markland Wood and Kipling corporations, where a well-priced large suite can attract several offers quickly precisely because so little comparable stock exists.
The practical implication is that offer strategy is corridor-specific. In a corridor with twenty comparable units listed, patience is the strongest lever you have. In a corridor with two, it is not.
Frequently asked questions
Can I find out how many offers there are on a condo?
Yes. Under O. Reg. 567/05 s. 22.7 the brokerage must communicate the number of competing written offers to every person making one. That disclosure is mandatory. The contents of those offers may be shared only if the seller directs it, and never in a way that includes personal information or identifies another buyer.
Should I waive the financing condition to win?
Only with your eyes open. A pre-approval underwrites you, not the property, and a lender can decline over a low appraisal, a problematic status certificate, uninsurable elements or a property type it does not finance. If you go firm and the lender declines, you are in breach: the deposit is generally forfeited and the seller may claim further losses if they resell for less.
How big should my deposit be?
There is no legal minimum and no fixed percentage — it is negotiated in the offer. A larger deposit strengthens an offer without raising the price, because it signals organised funds and more at stake. Limit it by what you can actually certify within the window the agreement specifies and by how much you are prepared to have tied up if the deal ends badly.
Is offering over asking always necessary in Etobicoke?
No, and it depends entirely on which pricing strategy the listing is using. A unit priced at market with days on market accumulating should not need it. A unit deliberately underpriced with an offer date probably will. Judge the situation from days on market, whether there is an offer date, and what genuinely comparable units in the same building actually sold for.
What are the best comparables for a condo offer?
Sales in the same building, ideally the same stack, matched on exposure, floor, view, parking and locker status, layout efficiency and renovation level. Two units in one tower can differ by six figures on view and floor alone. A sale from the same building three weeks ago is worth more than ten sales from elsewhere in Etobicoke.
Does a personal letter to the seller help?
Generally no, and it carries real risk. Many brokerages will not forward buyer letters because they can introduce human rights considerations into what should be a commercial decision. Sellers choose on certainty of closing, not sentiment. Put the effort into the deposit, the date and a clean, complete offer instead.
What is a bully offer and can I make one?
A pre-emptive offer submitted before the seller’s scheduled offer date. Whether it is entertained depends on the listing terms and the seller’s instructions; where an offer date is advertised, other registered parties usually must be notified. It works best when it is materially strong and has a genuinely short irrevocable, and it works badly when it merely irritates a seller who intended to run a process.
How do I decide my maximum price?
Before offer night, and in writing. Work from comparable sold data in the same building, then from what the payment actually costs you at the qualifying rate, then from what you would still be comfortable with if the market softened 5%. Give the number to your agent and instruct them to hold you to it, because the dynamics of a competing-offer situation exist to move it.
Sources
- O. Reg. 567/05: General — s. 22.7 competing offers, s. 22.1 material facts, and the representation provisions. Accessed 10 September 2026.
- O. Reg. 365/22: Code of Ethics — s. 8 best interests and s. 12 confidentiality of client information. Accessed 10 September 2026.
- Real Estate Council of Ontario — offer process guidance and deposit handling in brokerage trust accounts. Accessed 10 September 2026.
- TRREB Market Watch, August 2026 — the Etobicoke average sale price of $1,049,793 across 243 sales. Accessed 10 September 2026.
Related reading
- Competing offers and open offer disclosure in Ontario
- Bully offers, competing offers and TRESA
- Deposit vs down payment in Ontario: not the same thing
- The Etobicoke condo buying guide
- Mortgage pre-approval in Ontario: what it actually guarantees
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
I am Jatin Dua, Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty Inc., Brokerage, Unit 101, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke, with more than four years of active GTA transactions and over $100M in sales volume. The offers I am proudest of are the ones where we won on terms and left the money in the client’s account.
Reach me at connect@jatindua.com or 833-330-1925.