On December 1, 2023, Ontario’s Trust in Real Estate Services Act Phase 2 came into effect — bringing with it one of the most significant changes to the offer process in Ontario real estate history. Yet two and a half years later, most Markham buyers have never heard of the open offer process, and most sellers have never been properly informed of their options under it.

Michael John Lau and Neeraj Moolchandani, top real estate agents in Markham Ontario, make TRESA literacy part of every buyer and seller conversation. Here is the complete guide.

What TRESA’s Open Offer Process Actually Is

Under TRESA Phase 2, sellers now have the option to open the bidding process and share details of competing offers with other buyers. If the seller chooses an open offer process, the buyer would be informed of competing offer details including prices, terms, conditions, deposits, and closing dates. All personal information that could identify the prospective buyer remains private — no exceptions.

Before TRESA Phase 2, Ontario operated exclusively on a blind bidding system. Buyers in a multiple offer situation knew only the number of competing offers — they had no information about price, terms, or conditions of other bids. This created a system where buyers routinely overbid — sometimes dramatically — because they had no information to calibrate a rational offer.

What Can and Cannot Be Disclosed

Under TRESA, a seller can authorize the release of certain aspects of competing offers — such as the price — while keeping other details confidential. This selective disclosure allows strategic sharing: for example, sharing price and closing date but not conditions. What can never be disclosed, regardless of seller direction: the identity of the person making the offer. Personal information that could identify the buyer is protected absolutely under TRESA.

How This Changes the Markham Offer Night Dynamic

In the current Markham market — where multiple offer situations still occur on well-priced properties in premium school catchments — the open offer process creates a fundamentally different strategic environment. In a closed offer situation, buyers must decide their maximum price based on their estimate of what competing buyers will offer — essentially a guess. In an open offer situation where the seller has directed price disclosure, buyers know the actual competing price and can make a rational decision about whether to improve their offer or accept that a competing buyer values the property more.

For Markham buyers in multiple offer situations on premium properties in Bur Oak Secondary School catchments, Unionville, or Box Grove, TRESA’s open offer framework can prevent the dramatic overbidding that characterized the 2021 and 2022 market. A buyer who can see that the competing offer is $1,220,000 does not need to offer $1,300,000 to “feel safe” — they can offer $1,235,000 rationally.

The Strategic Considerations for Markham Sellers

For Markham sellers, the decision to use an open or closed offer process should be made strategically with your listing agent before offers arrive — not reactively in the moment.

Open offers work in the seller’s favour when there are multiple qualified buyers likely to improve their offers when they can see competing bids. Transparency motivates a reluctant buyer to extend further when they know another buyer is close.

Closed offers work in the seller’s favour when the property has high emotional appeal that would generate irrational offers — and when transparency would reduce that irrationality. Many buyers in competitive Markham micro-markets will offer more aggressively when they cannot see what they are competing against.

Transparency can be powerful in the right situation — but it’s not automatically better. The best approach depends on market conditions, buyer demand, property type, and the kind of competition your home is likely to attract. Michael John Lau and Neeraj Moolchandani, top real estate agents in Markham Ontario, advise on open versus closed offer process strategy as part of every listing preparation.