How to Make an Offer on a House in Australia
Making an offer on a house in Australia is a negotiation — not a single transaction. Understanding how to structure your offer, what conditions to include, and how to interpret what the agent is actually telling you can save you thousands and prevent costly mistakes.
Research before you offer
Your offer should be anchored to evidence, not to the listed price. Before you make any offer, research comparable sales: properties of similar size, condition, and proximity that have sold in the last 60–90 days.
Use realestate.com.au/sold and domain.com.au/sold. Search the same suburb and nearby suburbs within 2km. Filter by property type (house or unit) and bedrooms. If 5–8 comparable properties have sold in the $810,000–$840,000 range, that is your evidence base — not the listed price of $875,000.
Properties that have been listed for 30+ days often have room to negotiate. Use the "days on market" indicator on listing sites to gauge how long the property has been available.
How to structure your offer
A written offer via the agent is the standard approach. Most agents have a standard offer form. Your conveyancer can also draft a letter of offer. Key elements to specify:
- →Offer amount — state the price clearly
- →Conditions — finance, building and pest, and any others (see below)
- →Settlement date — propose your preferred date (30–90 days from exchange is typical)
- →Deposit amount — typically 10%, sometimes 5% by negotiation
- →Expiry time — give your offer a deadline (24–48 hours is standard) to prompt a response
Understanding offer conditions
Your offer is subject to your loan being formally approved within a set period — typically 14–21 days. If approval is not granted, you can withdraw and recover your deposit. This is the standard safety net for buyers without unconditional pre-approval.
You have the right to commission a building and pest inspection after offer acceptance. If the inspection reveals material defects, you can negotiate a price reduction, request rectification, or withdraw. Strongly recommended for any established property.
Negotiate the settlement date to match your situation. If you are renting with a lease ending in 6 weeks, a 42-day settlement works. If you need 90 days to organise funds or logistics, say so. Settlement timing flexibility can sometimes substitute for a price concession.
Agent language decoder
Real estate agents use a consistent set of phrases that have specific meanings for informed buyers. Understanding what is actually being communicated — and what is not — changes how you respond.
The property has been on the market longer than expected, or the vendor has a genuine need to sell. This is a useful signal — it suggests room to negotiate.
Research days on market. If the listing is 30+ days old, the vendor may be more flexible than the asking price suggests.
May be true, may not be. Agents are not required to disclose how many offers exist or their amounts. This phrase is routinely used to create urgency.
Never increase your offer solely based on this claim. Ask: 'Can you tell me how many written offers you have received?' If they cannot confirm, treat it as unverified.
Can be genuine (vendor has a deadline) or a pressure tactic to encourage urgency. The 'deadline' is often moveable.
Ask directly: 'If we make an offer today at $X, will the vendor accept?' A clear yes or no tells you more than the original phrase.
In markets where underquoting occurs, the actual sale price could be $850k–$920k. The quoted range sets a floor, not a ceiling.
Research 5–10 comparable recent sales yourself. Set your offer range based on that evidence, treating the quoted range as a starting point only.
Positive signal if genuine. Ask for the vendor's exact counter before adjusting your position — 'not far apart' can mean $5,000 or $50,000.
Request the vendor's counter in writing before making any further moves.
A strong signal that the vendor is flexible on non-price terms. A longer or shorter settlement, a lease-back arrangement, or leaving certain fixtures can substitute for a price reduction.
Ask what settlement date would suit the vendor. Flexibility here can often close a gap that neither party wants to move on in dollar terms.
The negotiation sequence
A typical private treaty negotiation follows this sequence. Each round takes 24–48 hours.
You submit a written offer with conditions and an expiry time
Agent presents the offer to the vendor
Vendor accepts, rejects, or issues a counter-offer
You accept the counter, submit a new counter-offer, or hold firm
Agreement reached — or you withdraw
Don't over-negotiate. A vendor who has received three rejected offers from different buyers may simply accept the next offer that arrives from elsewhere. Know when to close.
When to hold firm vs adjust
- ✓Your comparable sales research supports your price
- ✓The property has been listed for 30+ days without a sale
- ✓You have seen genuine alternatives at similar or better value
- ✓The agent's pressure is based on unverifiable claims
- →A competing bid is confirmed in writing, not just claimed verbally
- →The vendor's counter is within the range your research supports
- →The property genuinely suits you better than available alternatives
When to walk away
Set your walk-away price before you make the first offer, not after negotiation has begun. Once you are emotionally invested in a particular property, your judgment about its true value deteriorates.
"Another buyer will come along" is not a risk to you. It is a risk to the vendor. If the property does not sell at your price, that is information about the market — not a reason to revise your limit upward. There will be other properties.
The asking price is a vendor's aspiration, not a market valuation. Your offer should be anchored to what similar properties have actually sold for — not to what the vendor wants. Use the Offer Planning Worksheet to document your comparable sales research before you approach the agent.