That Home Loan Hub

How Multi-Offers Work In The New Zealand Property Market

• Zebunisso Alimova

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0:00 | 11:49

Your heart is set on a house, you finally put an offer together, and then the agent says two words that spike your stress levels: multi-offer. Suddenly you are asking all the hard questions. Are they telling the truth? Are you being pressured? Do you have any rights in the process, or are you just meant to “put your best foot forward” and hope for the best?

We sit down with Megan Love, a Harcourts real estate agent, to demystify how multi-offers work in the New Zealand property market and why they happen more often than people think. We talk through the difference between expected competition during auction, tender, and deadline sale campaigns, versus the surprise multi-offer that can pop up weeks later when a vendor adds a price and buyer interest flares up again. Megan explains the purpose of the multi-offer form, why it exists to create transparency, and the key detail many buyers miss: the paperwork can only be triggered once a first offer is actually received.

We also dig into the buyer’s side of the stress. If you doubt a multi-offer is real, we share a practical way to check by contacting the agency manager and asking the right questions. Then we tackle the big confusion point: why a property can still be advertised and have open homes while your offer is under negotiation or still conditional. A real story shows how deals can fall over during finance, builder’s report, or legal review, and why keeping momentum protects the vendor and can even lead to a better outcome for everyone.

If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a mate who is house hunting, and leave a review so more Kiwi buyers can find it. What is the most confusing part of making an offer for you right now?

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