Offers, negotiation and exchange

Every offer deserves careful handling, because on any home the last few per cent of the price is real money. This is where your preparation turns into a result. Everything you did in the first seven chapters gave you evidence; this chapter is about using it.

Reading an offer properly

Weigh every offer on four axes:

• Price, obviously, but only alongside the rest.
• Conditions. An unconditional offer at $840,000 can beat a conditional one at $855,000, because conditions are exit doors. Every condition is a probability discount on the headline number.
• Deposit. A 10 per cent deposit signals a committed, organised buyer. A 5 per cent deposit isn’t disqualifying, but it tilts the read.
• Settlement terms. A settlement date that matches your onward purchase can be worth real money. So can a rent-back period if you need one. Terms are where a flexible seller can find value that a rigid one misses.

Insist that every offer comes to you in writing, with all conditions stated. Verbal offers relayed by phone are a starting point for discussion, not offers.

The common conditions, explained

Subject to finance gives the buyer a stated period (commonly 14 to 21 days) to obtain formal loan approval, failing which they can withdraw with deposit refunded. It’s the most common condition and the most common reason sales collapse, usually via a low bank valuation rather than the buyer’s income. Sensible responses: prefer buyers with pre-approval, keep the finance period tight, and have your agent confirm the buyer’s broker is real and progressing.

Subject to building and pest gives the buyer an inspection window (commonly 7 to 14 days) and the right to withdraw, or in practice renegotiate, if the report turns up defects. This is where your Chapter 4 decision pays off: a seller who already knows their building’s condition can answer the usual post-inspection request for a discount with facts, and decline one the report doesn’t support.

Subject to sale of the buyer’s own property is the weakest condition of all; if you accept one, insist on a release clause that lets you keep marketing and move to a better offer if one arrives.

Cooling-off periods: what your buyer can do after signing

In most states, a private-treaty buyer of residential property can withdraw within a statutory cooling-off period for a small penalty or none. No state gives cooling-off rights to buyers at auction. Sellers get no cooling-off anywhere (on the sale contract; NSW gives you one business day on the agency agreement, per Chapter 5).

Cooling-off can generally be waived or shortened: in NSW a buyer’s solicitor signs a section 66W certificate, and similar waivers exist elsewhere. Victoria’s cooling-off also doesn’t apply within three clear business days either side of a publicly advertised auction. Treat the table as the default position, and confirm current rules for your state when you sign, since these settings do get amended. Our guide to cooling-off periods by state has the detail.

Gazumping, both directions

In NSW and the ACT, a sale isn’t binding until contracts are formally exchanged, which can be days or weeks after a price is agreed. In that gap, a seller can legally accept a higher offer (gazumping the first buyer), and a buyer can equally walk away or reduce their offer (sometimes called gazundering). As a seller you’re allowed to keep entertaining offers until exchange, and your agent is generally obliged to pass new offers on. If you want a deal locked fast, push for quick exchange, even by signing with a cooling-off period rather than waiting for the buyer’s solicitor to finish a leisurely review. In Queensland and most other states, contracts are typically signed at the point of agreement, so the gap barely exists.

Common pressures late in a negotiation

Much of what’s written about property negotiation is for buyers. Sellers face pressures of their own, usually when a deal is 95 per cent done and everyone wants it finished. Recognising them helps you respond calmly:

• “The buyer is at their absolute limit.” Sometimes true, but rarely something you can check. Buyers often describe their limit as lower than it is, and agents pass on what they’re told. Weigh it against your evidence.
• Anchoring with a low first offer. A weak written offer arrives early and resets expectations, making the next offer look generous. Judge each offer against your evidence-based range from Chapter 2, not against the last offer.
• Deadlines you can’t check. “They’re bidding on another place Saturday.” It may be true. It’s reasonable to ask which property, and the answer helps you judge how firm the deadline is.
• Feedback conditioning. A steady run of underwhelming “market feedback” that leans toward a price cut or a marginal offer. Check it against the data you agreed at launch: groups through, repeat visits, contract requests. If those numbers say interest is healthy, the feedback deserves a closer look.
• The split-the-difference reflex. “You’re at $865,000, they’re at $845,000, let’s do $855,000” feels fair and costs you $10,000 in one sentence. A counter at $862,000 is equally reasonable; meeting in the middle is a habit, not a rule.

Three habits help throughout: set your genuine floor (in writing, to yourself) before the sale campaign starts, require all offers in writing, and understand how your agent is paid. On a 2.5 per cent commission, the agent’s share of a $10,000 price improvement is $250, while a deal that collapses earns them nothing. That gives every agent some pull toward a finished sale over the best possible one. Your agent acts for you, and a good one keeps your interests first despite that pull; the agent and the agreement you chose in Chapter 5 are what you’re relying on here.