Selling Your Home
Should I accept the first offer on my home?
By Steve Lockhart
The short answer
When the first offer arrives quickly, many sellers feel a familiar pressure: accept before it disappears, or gamble on a bidding war that may not appear. The steady answer is to evaluate that offer the exact way you would evaluate the tenth, through the full scoreboard.
Full answer
When the first offer arrives quickly, many sellers feel a familiar pressure: accept before it disappears, or gamble on a bidding war that may not appear. The steady answer is to evaluate that offer the exact way you would evaluate the tenth, through the full scoreboard. What is the price, the financing, the deposit, the inspection rights, the closing date, the credits, and the net at the end? Is the buyer cash, or does the loan depend on an appraisal coming in? A first offer can be genuinely strong and right; it can also be a testing lowball from a buyer who knows the market. There are signals around you, too: the number of showings and the shape of the weekend tell you whether this is a lone buyer or the start of a crowd. Waiting has a real cost: days pass, the listing's novelty fades, and the buyer can buy something else. So the point is not a rule. It is a process: let the sheet and the market tempo, not the narrative, decide. If the first offer covers your numbers, take it with confidence. If not, counter, and do not apologize.
Go a little deeper
Frequently asked
Questions sellers often follow up on
Is it standard to counter the first offer?
Yes, absolutely. Negotiation is the normal part of the process, and a counter is a healthy reply. Counter from your current data and your real numbers, and a buyer who actually wants the home usually meets a fair middle. The tone sets the table.
What if the first offer wants a long close?
A long close has a cost and a risk: the market can move, the buyer's situation can change, and your plan waits on hold. We weigh the calendar against the price, and the seller often gets a better result on the terms that fit the date.
What if no second offer comes?
Then you have the market data: the first offer was a fair read. If it met your sheet, take it confidently. If it missed, the feedback tells you what to adjust, and the reset may be the better answer than accepting less than you wanted.
The Lockhart Method
The Lockhart Method
Your Home | My Strategy | Proven Results
My strategy: the first offer gets the same judgment as the last. We run it through the sheet and the risk columns, see the market's tempo around us, and you decide from the evidence. No pressure from me, at the door and no fear from a search engine.
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