Your Options for Handling a Buyer’s Lowball Offer

Lowball offers are something no seller wants to receive, but they occur nonetheless. As frustrating as it is to receive an offer that’s lower than what you had in mind, it’s important to know what your options are, and today I’ll list three.

But first, I want to point out that you should always respond either verbally or in writing. Try not to take it personally and never ignore any offer that comes your way.

Now, without further ado, here are the three ways to address a lowball offer:

1. Test the market by altering your home’s price based on data from the MLS. How do we do that? Say we’ve priced your home at $310,000 and our first offer comes in at $290,000. At first glance, this constitutes a lowball offer. However, maybe we experiment by lowering your home’s price a bit and waiting a week or so. That slight reduction will catch the attention of buyers and the idea is to drum up a multiple-offer situation, thereby driving the price up. Once that happens, you’ll certainly be able to sell for a price higher $290,000 and possibly even above your original price.

2. Make a counteroffer close to the list price. If we’ve listed your home at $325,000 and, using the example above, received an offer of $290,000, our response will be to adjust your price to $323,000. This sends a message to the buyer that we’ve done our research and we’re secure in our price. If they’re a serious buyer, they’ll get the message and counter back with an offer closer to that number.

3. Politely decline the offer. As I mentioned earlier, though it’s a little risky, we can also submit a verbal or written response letting the buyer know that the home might not be right for them. This will catch the buyer and their agent a little off guard and, without sounding insulting or rude, is a great way to gauge the buyer’s seriousness.

If you have any questions or you’re looking for a trained, skilled negotiator to represent you in the selling process, please give me a call or send me an email. Mr. Licorice and I look forward to hearing from you!