A competitive bidding process is a structured sale in which qualified buyers compete against one another to win ownership of the property. A broker prepares a setup with all the information available about the property, including how much a developer can build. All the potential buyers tour the property, underwrite it, and submit a bid by the deadline. In NYC, where developers often have specific site needs, a competitive process is sometimes the only way to find the buyer willing to pay the most for the specific site. This is important for property owners because it shows them how much their property is really worth and what the market thinks it's worth. Many owners think skipping the formal process saves time and money. In reality, single-buyer negotiation almost always leaves more on the table than the broker fee it avoids.

Example: An owner lists a 6,000 SF lot in Bushwick through a structured competitive process. The broker generates eight offers by the deadline. The lowest comes in at $3.2 million, the highest at $5.1 million. Without the process, the owner had been considering an off-market offer of $2.8 million from the only buyer they knew.