Holding Offers on a Parent's Home in London, ON: 7 Decisions

Holding offers on a parent's home in London, Ontario: a family planning guide

Before holding offers on a parent’s home in London, Ontario, confirm who has legal authority to sign, agree on one decision-maker, and put in writing how any early (pre-emptive) offers will be handled. Then check whether today’s London and St. Thomas market, which is leaning toward buyers, actually supports waiting for an offer date.

By Jim Straughan, Broker, INITIA Real Estate Brokerage, London, Ontario. Last updated: October 1, 2026.

An offer date can organize buyer interest.

It cannot create it.

And when the home belongs to Mom or Dad, the hard part usually isn’t the buyers.

It’s the family.

Three siblings. One group chat. An early offer lands on a Saturday night with a 10 a.m. deadline.

Who decides?

That question should be answered long before the sign goes up.

Key takeaways

Only the person with legal authority can sign the direction for holding offers on a parent’s home: the capable parent, the attorney under a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property, or the estate trustee.
In Ontario, a seller’s agent must convey offers as soon as possible unless the seller gives clear, detailed written direction to delay them.
That written direction should also spell out how pre-emptive (“bully”) offers will be handled. A “seller reserves the right” note in the listing isn’t enough, according to RECO.
Changing the plan after listing takes a new written direction, updated listing information and written notice to everyone who has shown interest.
With 6.3 months of inventory across the LSTAR region in August 2026, an offer date has to be justified by real demand for this particular home.

In this guide

Why holding offers on a parent’s home is different
Does holding offers make sense in London’s market right now?
Who has the authority to sign the offer direction?
7 decisions to make before listing
What if a pre-emptive offer arrives early?
Can the family change the plan after listing?
What happens on offer day?
A London example
From 35+ years of offer nights
Frequently asked questions

Why is holding offers on a parent’s home different?

In a typical sale, the seller is the owner. One person or one couple. They sign the direction, they review the offers, they decide.

A parent’s home is rarely that simple.

The person with legal authority may be:

The parent, who still owns the home and can make their own decisions
An attorney acting under a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property
An estate trustee, if the parent has passed away

Meanwhile, the people with opinions may include every sibling, a spouse or two, and a well-meaning neighbour who “knows the market.”

A delayed offer process puts time pressure on decisions. Families under time pressure disagree.

That’s why the plan matters more when holding offers on a parent’s home than almost anywhere else.

For the full picture on authority, see my guide to selling a parent’s home under power of attorney in London, Ontario.

Does holding offers make sense in London’s market right now?

Honestly? For many homes, it’s harder to justify than it was a few years ago.

Here’s what the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR) reported for August 2026, the latest monthly figures available as of October 1, 2026. LSTAR’s region covers Middlesex and Elgin counties, including London, St. Thomas and Strathroy-Caradoc.

Measure, August 2026	Figure	Source
Homes sold	526	LSTAR
Months of inventory	6.3 (a new peak)	LSTAR
Sales-to-new-listings ratio	37.5% (below the 45%–65% range CREA considers balanced)	LSTAR
Average sale price, all LSTAR regions	$590,550	LSTAR
MLS® HPI composite benchmark	$553,500	LSTAR
MLS® HPI one-storey benchmark	$540,100	LSTAR
Sale-to-list price ratio	97.1%	London Free Press, reporting LSTAR data
Median days on market	28 days (30 a year earlier)	London Free Press, reporting LSTAR data

LSTAR described August as showing signs of a buyers’ market.

What does that mean for an offer date?

When buyers have six months of choice, many won’t wait for your Tuesday. They’ll buy the comparable home down the street that accepts offers anytime.

That doesn’t mean holding offers never works.

Well-kept, well-priced homes in high-demand segments can still draw competition. LSTAR’s one-storey benchmark actually edged up 0.7% from July, while the composite benchmark slipped 0.6%.

The decision about holding offers on a parent’s home should come from current evidence about this home. Not from what worked in 2021.

If your parent is choosing between a bungalow and a condo for their next move, my guide to choosing a bungalow or a condo when downsizing in London walks through the trade-offs.

Who has the authority to sign the offer direction?

Under Ontario’s rules, a seller’s agent must convey every offer to the seller as soon as possible, unless the seller has given clear, detailed written direction to do otherwise. When holding offers on a parent’s home, the first question is simple.

Who is “the seller”?

Situation	Who typically signs	What to confirm with a lawyer
Parent is capable and on title	The parent (and any co-owner)	Whether family members should attend meetings, with the parent’s consent
Parent has a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property	The named attorney(s)	Whether the POA is in effect, whether attorneys must act jointly, and their duties to the parent
Parent has passed away	The estate trustee(s)	Whether a Certificate of Appointment (probate) is needed before closing, and timing

One important point: a power of attorney ends when the person dies. After that, authority passes to the estate trustee.

If two siblings are joint attorneys or co-trustees, both may need to sign every direction. Including a change made at 9 p.m. on a Saturday.

Plan for that.

I’m not a lawyer, and these situations vary. Please confirm authority with your family’s real estate lawyer before listing.

What 7 decisions should the family make before listing?

Most offer-night stress is avoidable. It comes from decisions nobody made in advance.

Before holding offers on a parent’s home, answer these seven questions in writing:

Decision	Question to answer in writing
Strategy fit	Does current demand for this home support an offer date at all?
Decision-maker	Who has legal authority, and who is the single point of contact for the agent?
Family input	Who else is consulted, and how? (A call scheduled for offer night, not a group chat.)
Early offers	Should the signers be told about pre-emptive offers? Reviewed only if they meet set criteria?
Availability	Are all required signers reachable during the listing period, including evenings and weekends?
Parent’s needs	If the parent still lives there, how will showings, timing and closing date protect their routine and next move?
Fallback	What happens if one offer arrives? Or none?

Write it down.

Memories get creative under pressure. Signed directions don’t.

What if a pre-emptive offer arrives before the offer date?

A pre-emptive offer (often called a “bully offer”) arrives before the scheduled date, usually with a short irrevocable period meant to force an early decision.

RECO’s guidance is clear: the seller’s agent needs specific written instructions on how pre-emptive offers will be handled. A generic line in the listing saying the seller “reserves the right” to review early offers isn’t enough.

For families holding offers on a parent’s home, the options usually look like this:

Don’t tell us about early offers. We’re waiting for the offer date.
Tell us an offer exists, but don’t present it automatically.
Present early offers only if they meet specific written criteria (price, conditions, closing date).
Tell us about every early offer and we’ll decide case by case.

Here’s the question I ask families:

If a strong early offer arrived and you weren’t told, would anyone in the family feel it was mishandled?

And if you were told about every early offer, could the family resist the pressure to abandon the plan?

There’s no universally right answer. There is a right answer for your family.

Find it before listing day.

Can the family change the plan after listing?

Yes. But not quietly.

If the signers decide to review an early offer after originally saying they wouldn’t, RECO’s guidance means the process should look like this:

The agent explains the benefits and risks of changing course.
Everyone with authority to sign gives a new written direction.
The agent updates the listing and online advertising right away.
The agent notifies interested parties in writing (email or text counts), including anyone who viewed the home, said they plan to offer or already submitted an offer.
The notice gives the new offer date and time and, if the family will consider it, says a pre-emptive offer was received.

Why does this matter so much?

Because buyers preparing for Tuesday deserve a chance to compete if the date moves to Saturday. Shut them out, and you may shrink the very competition the strategy was meant to create.

RECO has fined an agent $14,000 for shortening an offer date without updated written direction from the sellers and without notifying other interested buyers. In that case, the agent’s own buyer client was the one making the offer. If the listing brokerage also represents a buyer who is making an offer, that has to be disclosed to the other buyers.

What happens on offer day?

There are three realistic outcomes. Prepare for all of them.

Several offers

Everyone who submits a competing written offer must be told how many written offers were received. The content of competing offers can be shared only if the seller directs it in writing, and then with every person making an offer, never including anyone’s personal or identifying information.

Compare more than price, because the highest offer isn’t always the best offer. Conditions, deposit, closing date and irrevocable period all matter.

For a parent moving into a retirement residence or care, the closing date can matter as much as the last $5,000. Here’s how to answer the closing-date question before you list.

One offer

One offer is still an offer.

Judge it on its terms, not on disappointment that a bidding war didn’t happen. It may still meet the family’s goals, and it may open room to negotiate. If it comes in low, here’s a calm plan for responding to a first offer.

No offers

Review the evidence honestly: showings, feedback, online interest, competing listings and price.

Then adjust. That might mean accepting offers anytime, improving presentation, allowing more exposure or reconsidering price.

What doesn’t help? Blame. Families are grieving, worried or exhausted. The market isn’t personal, even when the house is.

A London example

The following is an illustrative example, not a specific client transaction.

Two sisters hold joint power of attorney for their father, who has moved into a retirement residence. His one-floor bungalow in London’s west end is listed on a Thursday, with offers reviewed the following Tuesday.

Before listing, both sisters sign a direction: notify them of any pre-emptive offer, but present it only if it is unconditional and allows a closing date after the end of the month.

On Saturday, an offer arrives. It’s strong on price but conditional on financing.

Because the criteria were set in advance, the answer is already clear. The sisters are notified, the offer isn’t presented, and the process continues. No midnight phone calls. No sibling standoff.

If they had wanted to change course, both would have needed to sign a new direction, and every interested party would have been notified in writing.

That’s holding offers on a parent’s home done well. Decided early. Written down. Followed.

From 35+ years of offer nights

Some time ago, a lawyer, Jack G., referred a client to me: the out-of-town executor for one of his clients, who was also his neighbour. Jack G. was a man of good character who had befriended his elderly, unmarried neighbour over the course of many years, helping her in innumerable small ways, as good neighbours do. To the best of Jack’s knowledge, this relative, the executor, had not visited her in many years.

I never did meet the executor. She never came to London, not even to view the house or collect personal items from it. She was difficult to get hold of and wanted everything done on her timeline.

The first offer that came in had a short irrevocable period, and she did not return my calls until a day or so after my first attempt. When I did reach her, she said she wanted to wait a few days to see if more offers came in. The buyers did not come back after the irrevocable period expired, as they had found another property. It was some time before another offer came in, and it was considerably lower than the first.

The lesson: a plan only works if the person who has to sign can be reached when the offer arrives.

Then there was a family of seven brothers whose surviving parent had just passed. They were inheriting a home and a cottage in Huron County. Before the home was listed, there was an offer to buy the cottage; however, they, too, wanted to wait for another bid on the cottage. After the house sold quickly, they continued to argue about the cottage. Over the course of years, they accumulated a large legal bill, and the market declined.

The lesson: waiting for a better offer has a cost, too.

Due diligence in these situations is imperative; however, moving with prudent speed is usually conducive to the best outcome when family members are involved.

Frequently asked questions

What does holding offers mean in Ontario?

Holding offers means the seller has given their agent written direction not to present offers until a set date and time. Without clear, detailed written direction, the agent must convey every offer to the seller as soon as possible.

Who can sign the direction for holding offers on a parent’s home?

Whoever has legal authority to sell: the parent if they are capable and on title, the attorney under a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property, or the estate trustee if the parent has passed away. Confirm authority with a real estate lawyer before listing.

Does holding offers guarantee multiple offers?

No. An offer date can organize existing buyer interest but cannot create it. With 6.3 months of inventory in the London and St. Thomas (LSTAR) region in August 2026, many buyers simply choose homes that accept offers anytime.

What is a pre-emptive offer?

A pre-emptive, or “bully,” offer arrives before the scheduled offer date, usually with a short irrevocable period to force an early decision. The seller’s written direction should say in advance whether, and when, such offers will be presented.

Can we change the offer date after the home is listed?

Yes. Everyone with authority to sign must give a new written direction, the listing must be updated, and everyone who has shown interest must be notified in writing.

Are buyers told how many offers there are?

Yes. Everyone who submits a competing written offer must be told how many written offers were received. Offer details are shared only if the seller directs it in writing, and nothing that identifies a buyer is ever shared.

Does a power of attorney still work after my parent passes away?

No. A power of attorney ends at death. Authority then passes to the estate trustee named in the will or appointed by the court, and probate may be required before the sale can close.

What if our family disagrees on offer night?

Legally, only the people with signing authority decide. Practically, agree before listing on one point of contact, how other family members will be consulted, and the criteria for accepting an offer.

Plan the process before the pressure arrives

The offer date matters.

The instructions, the family plan and the fallback matter more.

If you’re helping a parent sell in London, St. Thomas, Strathroy, Komoka, Kilworth or elsewhere in Middlesex, Elgin and southwestern Ontario, I’m happy to walk your family through the options for holding offers on a parent’s home. No pressure. Just a clear plan.

About the author

Jim Straughan, Broker, INITIA Real Estate Brokerage, has been licensed to trade in real estate in Ontario since 1990, with 35+ years of London-area experience (RECO Registration #4007696). He focuses on helping seniors and their families sell and plan their next stage of housing, whether a condo, retirement residence or long-term care.

Phone: 519 872 6616
Email: brokerjim@proton.me
Web: houseforsalelondonontario.com

Sources

This article provides general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Authority to sell, powers of attorney and estate matters depend on individual circumstances. Please consult a real estate lawyer and, where appropriate, an accountant. Jim Straughan, Broker, INITIA Real Estate Brokerage.

Not intended to solicit clients already under contract with another brokerage.