In the midst of a festering national debate over the ethical (and legal) right of brokerages to advertise listings via private, in-house marketplaces, a number of Colorado brokerages are embracing full, untethered transparency as a marketing strategy.
Inman has learned that RE/MAX Alliance, RE/MAX Professionals, RE/MAX of Cherry Creek and West + Main Homes in Denver and adjacent Front Range submarkets are partnering with Final Offer, the award-wining listing and offer negotiation marketplace that allows agents and their clients to present offers and negotiate in full view of their competition.
“We have found that throughout the country, many real estate agents have been taught, incorrectly, that they cannot disclose the price and terms of offers. That’s not true,” Final Offer co-founder Tim Quirk told Inman. “In most states, if the seller permits their agent to disclose the price and terms of offers, they can. Why would a seller want their agent to do that? Because it could get them a better outcome while giving everyone interested in purchasing their property a fair chance to do so.”
Final Offer operates in 24 markets, and is new to Colorado. The company launched its open-offer platform in the mid-Atlantic. It’s been scaling deliberately since its launch in 2021. While the solution is not an auction, some states required the company to earn auctioneer accreditation.
Listing agents can use Final Offer as an informational hub for a property or as an alternative offer-aggregator and marketing value-add. Agents work with their buyers on offer strategy as they would under any transaction scenario and submit it to the Final Offer experience. Prices, terms and contingencies are all visible and the software deploys a number of alerts, rules and tactics to ensure everyone knows where they stand during the process. Listing agents can upload images, videos, inspections and any other form of required due diligence to meet every participating state’s regulations.
Inman reviewed the platform upon its initial launch and after a number of updates. The system consistently earned high marks for its dedication to transparency and modern, consumer-first user experience.
“It now begins with broadcasting the standard market list price as the barometer for market interest. The seller also has an option to post their “final offer” price, meaning the exact number it’ll take for them to sign a contract right away based on overall deal value,” the review stated. “There’s also a third option, the minimum committed price. This communicates ‘the minimum total offer value that a buyer must meet or exceed in order to make an offer the seller is contractually committed to accept, provided the buyer also accepts all of the seller’s terms.’”
The brokers now set to use Final Offer are giving it high marks, as well.
“Final Offer is elevating real estate by bringing speed, transparency, and simplicity to every transaction,” said Stacie Staub, CEO of West + Main Homes, in a statement. “The industry is evolving, and we’re proud to be a launch partner in our markets setting the standard for a modern client experience.”
Alan Smith — broker-owner of RE/MAX Professionals — said in the release he’s looking forward to “leading with trust.”
“At its core, Final Offer is about doing what’s right for the home buyers and sellers: delivering facts, transparency, and the confidence to make the best decision possible for all parties involved,” he said.
Quirk admits his company offers a tough premise for many in the industry to initially grasp. As purveyors of sensitive and often walled data about a home, agents and brokers are hesitant to expose the offer process, or even make an inspection readily available. But in a time where more listings are being segregated, Final Offer’s pitch is that it offers a blast of sunlight on the homebuying process.
“It’s hard for many industry veterans because what we’ve learned is that most real estate professionals feel like offer transparency is black and white when it’s actually gray. Offer transparency is simply giving everyone the knowledge whether a valid offer exists or not,” Quirk said. “That should be table stakes in any real estate transaction. It provides trust in the process and allows everyone to know what they’re competing against, even if there is no offer on the table. Deciding whether to publicly disclose the terms of those offers, that’s a negotiation decision for the seller and their agent to make.”
