Published 7 September 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
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Get My Free Estimate →A seller may direct their brokerage to disclose the substance of competing offers. What that covers is narrower than most people assume: the number of competing offers (net of any withdrawn or expired), whether the listing brokerage represents any of the competing buyers, and commission arrangements that could affect whether an offer is accepted.
What is not disclosed is personal or identifying information about competing buyers. The seller controls the whole thing in writing, may limit what is disclosed, and may change or revoke the direction at any time during the listing. Where no direction is given, the previous practice continues.
What may be disclosed
| Disclosable, with the seller’s direction | Not disclosed |
|---|---|
| The number of competing offers | Names or identifying details of competing buyers |
| Whether the listing brokerage represents any competing buyer | Personal information about competing buyers |
| Commission arrangements that could affect whether an offer is accepted |
The seller decides. The direction is given in writing, it can be limited, and it can be changed or revoked at any point during the listing.
Why the commission line is in there
This is the part people find surprising, and it is the most consumer-protective element of the rule. Where the listing brokerage stands to receive both sides of the commission, or where a cooperating brokerage has waived or reduced its fee, that arrangement can influence which offer a seller accepts. Competing buyers are entitled to know that the playing field is not level in that respect.
What it does not change
- Price is not disclosed. The specific terms of a competing offer are not part of what may be disclosed.
- Conditions are not disclosed. Same.
- There is no obligation to disclose anything. Silence remains the default where no direction is given.
For sellers: the strategy question
There is a genuine trade-off and no universal right answer.
Disclosing can encourage buyers to compete on informed terms, and it reduces the number of buyers who walk away because they believe the process is opaque. It also signals confidence when the competition is real.
Not disclosing preserves uncertainty. Buyers who do not know how many others are bidding sometimes bid more, and sometimes bid less. At the top of the market, where each buyer is well advised and the pool is small, uncertainty is less effective than it is in the mid-market.
How this plays at the top of the market
Above $3 million, formal offer dates are less common than negotiation. Competition does happen — the Forest Hill South house that sold on 26 August 2026 for $23.5 million against a $22 million asking price attracted three competing offers — but it is usually the product of correct pricing rather than of a bidding process.
Where competition does exist, the disclosure decision is worth making deliberately rather than by default. Decide it with your agent before the offers arrive, and put the direction in writing.
The practical takeaway
The rule gives sellers a tool and buyers a narrow but real entitlement. Buyers should ask the three permitted questions rather than assume. Sellers should decide in advance, in writing, and understand that the option is theirs to use or not.
Frequently asked questions
Can a seller tell me what the other offers are?
Only within limits. A seller may direct disclosure of the number of competing offers, whether the listing brokerage represents any competing buyer, and commission arrangements that could affect acceptance. Personal and identifying information about competing buyers is not disclosed.
Do sellers have to disclose competing offers?
No. It is entirely the seller’s choice, made in writing, and it can be limited, changed or revoked at any time during the listing.
Does the number include offers that were withdrawn?
The number disclosed is intended to reflect the offers actually competing, net of any that have expired or been withdrawn. The point of the rule is accuracy about the competitive situation.
Why does the commission arrangement get disclosed?
Because it can affect whether an offer is accepted. Where the listing brokerage would receive both sides of the commission, or a cooperating brokerage has waived or reduced its fee, that can influence the outcome and competing buyers are entitled to know it.
Should a seller use open offer disclosure?
It depends on the situation. Disclosure can encourage buyers to compete on informed terms; withholding it preserves uncertainty, which sometimes produces a stronger result. It is a strategy decision to take with your agent for the specific property and market, not a rule.
Does this apply to luxury sales?
The rules apply to all Ontario residential transactions. In practice, negotiation is more common than a formal offer date above $3 million, and the disclosure rules matter most where genuine competition exists — as it did on the Forest Hill house that sold in August 2026 with three competing offers.
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Send me the address, or the shortlist you are considering. I will tell you what the property is actually worth today, what the land is worth without the house, what the transfer tax and carrying costs will be, and whether the deal makes sense. Confidential, always.
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Related reading
- TRESA in plain English: what changed for Ontario buyers and sellers
- How luxury negotiations actually work in Toronto
- When one brokerage represents both sides: the rules and the risks
- Marketing a luxury listing in Toronto: what real exposure looks like
Sources
Everything above that is a rule, a rate or a published number comes from these. Verify anything that matters to your own deal.
- RECO — About open offers
- RECO — Information Guide
- Sotheby’s International Realty Canada — Forest Hill sale release, 26 August 2026
About the author — Jatin Dua, Broker of Record
I’m the Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke, and I work with buyers, sellers and investors across Toronto and the west GTA. A large part of my work sits in the upper end of the market, where the comparables are thin, the rules are heavier and the cost of a wrong number is measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The free estimators on this site are mine. I built them because the first question every owner asks is “what is it worth?” and the honest answer starts with a number you can check yourself. connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.