NEGOTIATION · 6 MIN READ
How to respond to a low offer on your house.
A low offer feels like an insult. It is actually an opening line. Here is how a private seller turns a lowball into a deal, calmly.
The first low offer is the moment most private sellers get wrong. They feel insulted, say no, and slam a door that did not need slamming. A low offer is not a verdict on your home. It is a buyer telling you they are interested, on the terms they would love. Your job is to move them off those terms.
Key takeaways
- A low offer is a starting point, not an insult.
- Never reject on emotion. Acknowledge it in writing.
- Ask about the buyer’s position before you counter.
- Counter with a number backed by a reason, and aim for movement.
01 · The mindset
Take the emotion out of it.
A number on a page cannot insult you. When a low offer lands, the worst thing you can do is fire back a flat no. That ends the conversation with the one person who has already raised their hand. Treat the offer as information: it tells you this buyer is interested and roughly where they would like to start.
The calm response beats the proud one every time. You are not defending your home’s honour. You are running a process to close a gap.
02 · The sequence
Acknowledge, ask, then counter.
Acknowledge it in writing
Thank the buyer, confirm you have received the offer, and keep it professional. Buyers who feel respected keep negotiating. Buyers who feel dismissed walk.
Ask about their position
Are they pre-approved? Do they have a home to sell first? What settlement suits them? Their answers show you how serious they are and where the room to move actually is.
Counter clearly, with a reason
Come back with a number inside your price range and give the reason behind it: the comparable sales, the level of interest, the current competition. A counter with a reason is persuasive. A counter without one is just a bigger number.
The goal of your first counter is not to close the deal. It is to get the buyer to move. Once they have moved up and you have moved down a little, you are both invested and much closer to the middle.
Example
A buyer offers $1.08m on a home you have priced at $1.15m–$1.22m. Instead of “no”, you reply: “Thanks for the offer. Based on three recent sales in the street between $1.16m and $1.21m, I cannot move below $1.19m. But if the numbers work for you there, I am keen to make this happen.” They come back at $1.14m. You have turned a $70k gap into a $50k one in a single exchange, and now you are negotiating, not stalling.
03 · When they will not move
Hold your reserve, keep the door open.
If a buyer refuses to move after a fair counter, it usually means they have hit the top of their budget, or they are testing you. Either way, treat it as information. Thank them, keep the door open, and go back to the rest of the market. A buyer who will not move today often comes back once they see the range has not collapsed.
And you are rarely negotiating with only one buyer if you have run your campaign well. Keeping a second interested buyer warm is the single biggest thing that improves your result.
QUICK ANSWERS
Common questions.
Should I always counter a low offer?
In almost every case, yes. A low offer is a starting point, and countering keeps the buyer engaged while forcing price movement out of them. The only time to hold off is when the buyer is clearly nowhere near your home’s value, and even then a short, polite counter costs you nothing and tells you where they really sit.
How much should I move in my counter?
Move enough to signal goodwill, but not so much that you give away your position. A common approach is to move a smaller amount than the buyer did, so the gap closes in your favour with each round. Anchor every counter to comparable sales, not to how you feel about the offer.
What if it is the only offer I have?
Then your counter matters even more. Hold your reserve, give a reason, and keep the buyer engaged while you go back to the market. One offer today does not mean one offer this week. Signalling that you are open to offers can bring hesitant buyers back into the running.
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