01
Is it legal for a seller to take more than one offer at a time?
TREC answers this one plainly. The listing agent represents the seller and has a duty to present all offers in a timely manner. There is no prohibition against presenting more than one offer at a time. A seller may receive, review and negotiate several offers at the same time. Competing offers are an ordinary part of a Texas sale.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer sounds routine rather than dramatic. Something like: three offers came in over the weekend, and the seller is reviewing all three today. The duty to present offers in a timely manner belongs to the seller's agent. A seller weighing several offers at once is doing what the rules allow.
Red flag
Treating every competing bid as a trick talks a buyer out of houses they wanted. The behavior worth watching is narrower: an agent who will not give a plain answer about whether offers exist. Competition itself is not the problem.
02
Will the listing agent tell me whether other offers exist?
Standard of Practice 1-15 of the 2026 REALTOR Code of Ethics took effect on 1 January 2026. In response to an inquiry from a buyer or a cooperating broker, a REALTOR shall disclose the existence of offers on the property, with the seller's approval. The duty covers whether offers exist. It does not reach their terms.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer is a yes or a no about existence. Something like: the seller has approved confirming that two other offers are in hand. The duty is triggered by the inquiry, so a buyer has to ask, and a buyer working with Georgetown realtors can have it asked in writing. Enforcement sits with the local board, not with TREC.
Red flag
Two answers overstate the rule in opposite directions. One says nothing can ever be shared. The other says the law requires the agent to tell a buyer. Standard of Practice 1-15 needs the seller's approval and needs the question asked. A seller who withholds approval is exercising a preference, not hiding something.
03
Can I ask who the other offers came from?
Standard of Practice 1-15 carries a second half. Where disclosure of offers is authorized, a REALTOR shall also disclose, if asked, whether offers were obtained by the listing licensee, another licensee in the listing firm, or a cooperating broker. The answer sorts the offers by origin. It says nothing about price.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer is a short breakdown. Something like: one offer came through the listing firm, and one came from an outside broker. A buyer who learns that every offer came from inside the listing firm knows the competition was not drawn from the wider pool of cooperating brokers. That changes how a buyer reads the pressure.
Red flag
A refusal to break the offers down, after their existence has already been confirmed, is worth noticing. Standard of Practice 1-15 puts that second answer inside the same duty once disclosure is authorized. An agent who treats the question as an insult is answering a question nobody asked.
04
Can a seller lie and say they have multiple offers?
No TREC rule addresses fabricated offers by name. The prohibition sits in general language. Texas Occupations Code Section 1101.652(b) lets TREC suspend or revoke a license for conduct that is dishonest or in bad faith, for a continued and flagrant course of misrepresentation, and for offering real property by means of a deceptive practice.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer from a license holder can still be a careful one. Something like: the seller has not approved discussing other offers, so there is nothing to confirm either way. TREC's Canons at 22 TAC Section 531.3 require prudence and caution so as to avoid misrepresentation by acts of commission or omission. Section 531.2 requires treating other parties fairly.
Red flag
A careful non-answer and an invented offer can sound alike. Conduct that demonstrates untrustworthiness is grounds for TREC to act on a license. A buyer who believes an offer was fabricated has a complaint path at TREC, not an argument to win at the kitchen table. Most competing offer situations are real.
05
Does the listing history back up the story about other offers?
Days on market and the price history are public parts of the listing, and they do not change with the conversation. A home that has sat, or that has already taken a price reduction, carries a different demand story than a fresh listing. In Williamson County, buyers have been regaining leverage, with about 73 percent of listings reaching closing.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer points at the record rather than the mood. Something like: the price came down three weeks ago, and the seller now has two offers in hand. Recent reporting on the market put price reductions at 42.1 percent of properties. A Georgetown buyer can read the days on market and the price history before deciding what to bid.
Red flag
A story about heavy interest that the listing record does not support is worth a second look. A long run on market with no price change is a seller holding a position. That is a preference rather than a problem, and it still tells a buyer where the pressure sits.
06
What can a buyer control when the other offers cannot be verified?
Since 1 January 2026 a license holder in Texas must have a written agreement with a prospective buyer before showing any residential property. Senate Bill 1968 added Occupations Code Section 1101.563. The agreement must disclose in conspicuous language that broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable. Representation gets settled before the bidding starts.
What a strong answer sounds like
In Georgetown, Round Rock and Liberty Hill, where T. Kerr Property Group works, a good answer walks the buyer's own dates. Paragraph 5A sends the earnest money and the option fee to the escrow agent within 3 days after the effective date. Paragraph 5B sets an unrestricted right to terminate within a negotiated number of days, by 5:00 p.m. local time.
Red flag
Pressure to skip the written agreement, or to leave the option days blank, strips out the parts of the deal a buyer controls. Section 1101.563 requires the written agreement before a showing. Paragraph 5B is the exit, and a blank number of days is not one.
This article is general information about the Central Texas market and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Statutes, rates, deadlines and district rules change. Confirm anything that affects a decision with a licensed attorney, a tax professional, the Williamson County Tax Assessor Collector or the Williamson Central Appraisal District before acting on it.
