Should you accept the first offer on your house?

There are over 14.4bn results listed on Google for the search query 'Should I accept the first offer on my home?', and it comes as no surprise why. Choosing to accept an offer on your house is a highly personal decision, though several objective factors can help you make the call. We’ll help coach you through evaluating your first offer and deciding whether to accept or wait. Are you an Estate Agent with some further advice or thoughts on this? Please share them in the comments below.

Let’s start with a case for the first offer on your home: there’s usually a motivated buyer behind it. The buyer is excited about your home and wants to act quickly to beat out the competition. It’s possible they’ve spent time searching for a home in the current market to understand what inventory is out there and for what price, taking those factors into account when crafting their offer.

Nine times out of 10 the first offer you receive will be lower than what you were hoping for. Even if the first offer is on the lower side, you can respond with a counteroffer to nudge that figure into your goal range. Your Estate Agent will guide you in this process.

When the first offer comes through, it’s easy to get hung up on the figure. However, there’s much more to explore.

• Price: If the offer is within 10% of your listing price, open a dialogue and begin negotiating.
• Type of transaction: Cash is king, and a cash offer tends to be more reliable than mortgage-backed offers since they guarantee a certain and swift closing. Mortgage-backed deals can be riskier but are very common.
• Buyer flexibility: Depending on your circumstance, a buyer’s flexibility with completion and exchange dates can influence your decision to accept the first offer. It also depends on their chain; if they are currently renting, they could have more flexibility than if they need to sell their house.?Phil Spencer from MoveIQ says:

"Think carefully before accepting an offer from a buyer who hasn’t yet got their home under offer. A delayed sale on their side will prolong your sale and onward move.

If you accept an offer from someone selling who is already under offer on their sale, establish how long the chain is that they are involved in. A long and weak chain where little progress has been made can cause serious delays for you.

However, if the chain is moving and solicitors are making good progress, you can be more confident in accepting the offer with reduced risk of delays."

Whether you accept the first offer on your house or not depends on the type of market you’re in. While there’s no guarantee your home will receive more than one offer, but if you’re in a seller’s market (where properties are hot and inventory is low), you have a better chance of getting more than one.

Ask your Estate Agent about the conditions of the market and whether or not it’s worth holding out for better offers.

Straight off the bat, if you’re pressed for time and need to sell your house ASAP, you could consider accepting the first offer you receive. If you’re in a buyer’s market (with more housing inventory on the market than there are buyers), then you may be better off taking the first offer as another may not come along. Also, if your house has been listed for sale for a while before you received your first offer, it’s wise to take the first offer seriously.

Some homes are inherently harder to sell – such as a family home without parking or being located underneath a flight path –which requires a specific buyer to come along. If your home is more niche in this aspect, you don’t have as much leeway to be choosey when it comes to offers.

However, just because your home is taking a while to sell doesn’t mean you should accept an offer well below its market value. If you have time to spare, then you have the option of holding out for an offer that meets your financial needs.

There’s a lot to consider when evaluating the first offer, so let the initial thoughts sink in before you make a decision. Weigh the offer’s quality against your needs (time and finance) and talk to your Estate Agent about the market’s climate to decide if it’s worth pursuing.

Compromise is often the key on both sides to securing a deal. If you feel the deal is right for you, accept and get moving. If you do accept the offer, it’s usually ‘subject to contract’, which means that as long as the survey doesn’t throw up any surprises, the buyer will most likely complete the sale. The offer will only be official once your Estate Agent can prove the buyer has the finances to purchase the property.

The accepted offer is not legally binding until contracts are exchanged. The buyer can back out of the sale at any point up until contracts are exchanged.

When you’re hoping to sell a house fast and for the best price, there are plenty of ways to keep things moving. Planning well, managing your expectations and leveraging your Estate Agent are key. And Boomin makes it easier to get your house in front of prospective buyers.

We work with trusted and experienced Estate Agents that are bookable online, 24/7. As a smarter, always-on property site, you can get your home noticed, sooner. Find out more .