How Do I Handle Lowball Offers on My Home?

Do Not Take It Personally

Buyers who submit low offers are testing the market. They are not insulting your home. Many buyers are coached by well-meaning friends or family to offer 10% to 20% below asking. Others are investors looking for distressed deals. Keeping your emotions out of the response keeps your options open.

Always Counter

Unless an offer is so far out of range that a counter would be a waste of time, respond with a counteroffer. Countering at or near your asking price signals that you take your pricing seriously without ending the dialogue. A buyer who got a counter is still a buyer. A buyer who got no response has no reason to come back.

Counter With Data, Not Emotion

Your agent can provide the buyer's agent with recent comparable sales that support your pricing. If your home is priced correctly, the comps make the case. Buyers who see the data often adjust their expectations. Buyers who are unwilling to consider the data are unlikely to get to a price that works for you regardless.

When to Walk Away

If a buyer refuses to move into a reasonable range after one or two rounds of negotiation, it is fine to let the offer die. Not every buyer is the right buyer. Accepting a number that does not work for you because you are anxious about the market or tired of the process rarely ends well.

The exception is if your home has been on the market for an extended period and the market is telling you something about pricing. A consistent pattern of lowball offers can indicate that buyers generally agree the home is overpriced. In that case, the right response is a price adjustment, not just repeated counters.

Protecting Your Position

While negotiating with one buyer, you remain free to accept another offer. You do not owe any buyer exclusivity during the negotiation phase. If a better offer comes in while you are countering a lowball, you can pursue the better offer. Keeping the market active during negotiations protects your leverage.