Sometimes the other offer is real, and it's rarely the whole story. From your end of the phone you usually can't tell, so don't raise on the word alone. Ask whether it's above yours and whether that buyer can proceed, and get your own offer confirmed in writing.
You make an offer, and the agent rings back: "Just so you know, we've had another offer." It might be true. It might be a second viewing described generously. You can't see it or check it, and the house you want is on the line.
This guide covers what an agent may and may not say, how the line usually works, how to test it without calling a bluff, and what to say back. It's written for England and Wales.
Is the other offer real, or a bluff?
From your end of the phone, you usually can't tell, and it matters less than it feels. Three questions decide what you should do, and you can ask all three:
- Is it above or below yours? An offer below yours needs no answer from you.
- Can that buyer proceed? A higher offer from a buyer with a home still to sell can lose to a lower one from a buyer with no chain.
- Has the seller had your offer in writing? The seller can only weigh the offers they've seen.
Agents act for the seller and are usually paid a share of the price. Telling you about other interest is part of that job. What an agent may and may not tell you is at the end of this guide, with its sources.
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Put in the address and see what the data says you should offer — sold prices, time on market, seller signals.
Phantom buyers: why the line works either way
A phantom buyer is a buyer, or an offer, that doesn't exist. The fear it plays on is the same whether the buyer is real or not: that you'll lose the house by calling the bluff.
It usually comes in one of three ways:
- straight after your first offer, before you've heard what the seller thinks of it
- just before a deadline, or as the reason for setting one
- with a figure and nothing about the buyer behind it, or with neither
None of that makes it false. Each is a reason to ask a question before you move your figure.
Five agent lines about other buyers, decoded
| The agent says | What it usually means | How to test it | What to say back |
|---|---|---|---|
| "We've had a lot of interest." | Viewings, perhaps second viewings. Interest isn't an offer. | Ask whether any offers have been made. | "Good to hear. Our offer stands, for the reasons we gave." |
| "There's another offer." | Sometimes true, and rarely the whole story. It may be lower than yours, or from a buyer who can't proceed yet. | Ask whether it's above or below yours, and whether that buyer is chain-free with a mortgage agreed in principle. | "We'd ask the seller to weigh how certain each offer is as well as its figure." |
| "Someone has offered more." | A higher figure the seller hasn't taken. Price isn't the only thing they're weighing. | Ask whether the seller has accepted it, and if not, what's holding them back. | "Our offer is set from the evidence, and it stands." |
| "The seller has turned down more than that." | An anchor. It tells you what the seller wouldn't take then, from that buyer. | Ask when that offer was made and whether that buyer could proceed. | "Our offer is priced from this house and the evidence, not from other bids." |
| "The other buyer is a cash buyer." | A claim about their position. No mortgage and no chain do count with a seller. | Ask whether the agent has checked where their money is coming from. | "We're [chain-free, with a mortgage agreed in principle]." |
If the agent calls a sealed round, best and final offers covers how to set your figure and what to write.
How to test the claim without calling the bluff
You don't need to accuse anyone. An accusation proves nothing and costs you the agent's goodwill. Questions cost nothing, and the answers change what you do.
- Ask about the buyer instead of asking for proof. Is that buyer chain-free? Do they have a mortgage agreed in principle? Has the agent checked where their money is coming from? An agent can answer those without naming anyone.
- Ask where it sits against yours. "Is it above or below our offer?" You may not get the figure. The answer still tells you whether there's anything to respond to.
- Get your own offer confirmed in writing. Ask the agent to confirm by email that your offer has gone to the seller.
- Read the listing's own history. Time on the market and price cuts can't tell you whether an offer exists. They do show how long the house has sat at this price, and whether the seller has already come down. Days on the market covers how to read them.
- Leave the door open. Tell the agent your offer stands and what makes you a safe buyer. If the other offer falls away, yours is still on the table.
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What to say back
Keep your figure, keep it short, and put how certain your offer is next to its price. By email, after the call:
Thanks for letting us know about the other offer. Our offer of [£ figure] stands. It's based on [recent sales of similar homes nearby], and we're [chain-free, with a mortgage agreed in principle]. We'd ask the seller to weigh how certain each offer is as well as its figure. Could you confirm that our offer has been passed to the seller in writing?
Bidding war or bluff: when to raise and when to hold
Raise only below your limit, and only for a reason: something that changes what the house is worth to you, or a rival who turns out to be real, able to proceed and ahead of you. Hold when all you've heard is pressure: another offer with no figure, no buyer and a deadline.
If you do move, move once, by less than your last move, and ask for something in return, such as the appliances or a completion date that suits you. How to negotiate house price has the scripts for each round.
Holding can cost you the house. A limit set in advance means that if it does, the other buyer paid more than the house was worth to you.
If you think the agent has lied
Proof is rare, and a complaint won't win you the house. If you still want to act:
- Write down what you were told and when, while you remember it.
- Ask the branch manager, by email, to confirm what was said about the other offer.
- Complain to the agency, then to its redress scheme. Ask the agent which scheme it belongs to.
- Report it to your local Trading Standards office.
A complaint can test what you can't: the agent's own record of the offers it received. The rules at the end say what that record must hold.
How Broc helps when the agent pushes back
Know your limit before you answer the call. Broc works it out for a specific address from the sold prices of similar homes nearby and, where it can match the listing, how long the house has been on the market and any price cuts. With your answers about the house and your own position, the report sets your opening offer, target and walk-away, and writes the offer letter.
Once the offer is in, log the agent's reply in the report's deal room. For this line, pick "The agent made a claim", then "There's another offer", with the other offer's figure if the agent gave one. It shows what the claim usually means and how to test it, and its next move is to restate your case at the offer on the table, with a letter that puts it again. If the agent later counters your own offer with a figure, log that as a counter: the next move then holds, steps, restates or walks away, never past your walk-away.
If the agent knocks back one of your arguments and you accept the point, drop it: the offer and the letter re-price around the rest, and the figure moves up. You log what the agent said and you send the letter. Broc doesn't read your email or contact the agent.
Where the rules stand (position as of September 2026)
These rules apply in England and Wales.
- An agent must not knowingly or recklessly misrepresent, on the phone or in writing, whether an offer exists or what it is, or whether another buyer exists and what their position is, including their finances and how quickly they can exchange. "Recklessly" means without caring whether it's true. (Estate Agents (Undesirable Practices) (No. 2) Order 1991, Schedule 3)
- The agent must pass every offer to the seller promptly and in writing, unless the seller has said in writing that they don't want offers of that kind. (The same schedule.)
- The agent must not treat your offer less favourably because you won't use their other services, such as a mortgage arranged through them. (Schedule 2 of the same Order)
- An agent who does any of these can be warned or banned. The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team can issue a warning order, or ban anyone it finds unfit from estate agency work. (Estate Agents Act 1979, section 3 and section 4; NTS Estate Agency Team)
- Agents in The Property Ombudsman's scheme must go further. They must confirm each offer in writing to the seller, and to the buyer who made it, within 2 working days. They must tell buyers who have recently offered through them, and haven't been turned down, that other offers have been put to the seller. They may tell a buyer another offer's amount only if the seller agrees and they have warned every buyer who offers that they do this. Once they tell one buyer, they must tell every buyer still in the negotiation about every offer, straight away. The code repeats the ban on inventing or misrepresenting another offer or buyer. (The Property Ombudsman's code for residential estate agents, section 9)
- Those agents must keep records. That includes a record of every offer with its date and time and the seller's response, and they must produce their records when the ombudsman or Trading Standards asks. They must also take reasonable steps to find out where a buyer's money is coming from, including whether they claim to be a cash buyer, and tell the seller. (The same code, sections 1, 9 and 10.)
- The code binds members of The Property Ombudsman. Ask your agent which redress scheme it belongs to: The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme. Complaints go to the agency first, then to that scheme. (GOV.UK: making a complaint) Trading Standards takes reports of illegal sales practices. (GOV.UK: find your local Trading Standards office)
General information, not legal or financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can estate agents lie about offers?
No. An agent must not knowingly or recklessly misrepresent, on the phone or in writing, whether an offer exists, what it is, or who made it and their position. One who does can be warned or banned from estate agency work. The rules, with their sources, are under "Where the rules stand" above.
Do estate agents have to tell you about other offers?
The law's duty runs to the seller: the agent must pass your offer on. Agents in The Property Ombudsman's scheme must also tell buyers who have recently offered, and haven't been turned down, that other offers have gone to the seller. They can tell you a figure only if the seller agrees and you were warned they do this. The rules are under "Where the rules stand" above.
Will the agent tell the other buyer my offer?
Only on the same terms. An agent in The Property Ombudsman's scheme may share your figure only if the seller agrees and every buyer who offers was warned first, and then must tell every buyer still in the negotiation about every offer. Ask the agent at the start whether they do this. The rules are under "Where the rules stand" above.
Can I ask for proof of another offer?
You can ask, but don't expect to see another buyer's details. Ask instead whether the offer is above yours, whether that buyer can proceed, and for written confirmation that your own offer has reached the seller.
Should I raise my offer if there's another offer?
Only below your limit, and only for a reason: something that changes what the house is worth to you, or a rival who turns out to be real, able to proceed and ahead of you. The word "offer" on its own tells you nothing new about the house.
What is a phantom offer?
A buyer or an offer that doesn't exist, used to push a price up. It's against the rules, and you usually can't prove it from outside, which is why the test is questions about the other buyer rather than accusations. The rules are under "Where the rules stand" above.
What are the most common estate agent tricks?
The usual pressure lines are talk of interest, another offer with no figure, a short deadline, and "what's the most you could go to?". Each has the same answer: a figure decided before the call, the reasons for it, and questions about the other buyer's position.
Broc
Broc is the badger behind trybroc.io — "broc" is Old English for badger. Where the estate agent speaks in superlatives, Broc speaks in evidence — sold comparables, days on the market, seller-pressure signals — and turns them into a number you can defend.
