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Negotiating Price After an Offer: Strategy for Brisbane Sellers

Receiving an offer is one part of selling. Closing well is the other. Here is the negotiation framework for Brisbane sellers covering counter-offers, multiple offers, and reading the buyer's real position.

The moment your agent calls to say an offer has come in is one of the most consequential moments in your campaign. The decisions you make in the next 24 to 48 hours determine the price you achieve, the certainty of the contract, and the buyer's willingness to proceed without further re-negotiation later.

Most sellers approach this moment without a plan. They focus on the headline number, react emotionally to whether the offer is "high enough" or "below what we wanted", and counter without strategy. The result is consistently leaving money on the table or losing offers that would have settled with better handling.

Read the offer in full before reacting

Price is one variable, but it is not the only one. Every offer should be evaluated on:

Price. The headline figure.

Conditions. Subject to finance, subject to building and pest, subject to sale of own property, special conditions of any kind. Conditions reduce contract certainty.

Cooling-off. Standard five business days, waived (with Form 32 lawyer's certificate), or shortened by agreement.

Deposit. The amount paid, when, and into whose trust account. A 10 percent deposit signals stronger commitment than a 5 percent deposit.

Settlement period. Standard is usually 30 to 60 days. Longer settlements reduce buyer flexibility and may suit your purchase timing.

Buyer profile. Owner-occupier or investor, finance secured or in progress, local or interstate, has the buyer purchased before in the area.

An offer at $1.5M with no conditions, a 10 percent deposit, cooling-off waived, and 30-day settlement is a stronger overall offer than $1.55M with finance and inspection conditions, 5 percent deposit, and a 90-day settlement. The headline number can be misleading.

The conversation with your agent

Before responding to the offer, get a frank read from your agent on:

How serious is this buyer? Have they made offers on other properties? Has their behaviour signalled a final position or a starting position?

Is there competing buyer interest? Are there other buyers actively engaged who might offer if pushed?

What is the buyer's likely upper limit? An experienced agent can usually estimate within 3 to 5 percent based on the buyer's behaviour, finance position, and conversations.

What does the comparable sales evidence support? An offer 8 percent below the strongest comparable should be treated differently to one in line with comparables.

What is your agent's recommended counter? A good agent has an answer and a reason for it.

Counter-offer principles

1. Always counter unless the offer is exceptional. The first offer is rarely the buyer's best position. A counter signals you are open to negotiation and invites them to move closer to your number.

2. Counter to a position you would accept. The natural assumption is that the buyer will counter your counter. Pick a number where, if the buyer accepts your counter, you are genuinely happy. Avoid countering to a number you would not accept.

3. Make meaningful moves. A counter $5,000 above the offer signals stiffness without giving the buyer a reason to move. A counter $30,000 above the offer signals real negotiation.

4. Pair price with conditions. If the buyer's conditions are a concern, your counter can address both. "We will accept $1.53M with cooling-off waived and the building and pest condition removed by Friday." This trades price for certainty.

5. Set a deadline. "This counter remains open until 5pm Wednesday." A deadline forces the buyer to make a decision rather than continuing to look at other properties. Without a deadline, your counter sits in the buyer's pocket as their fallback while they keep looking.

6. Use written form for clarity. A written counter (email or contract) prevents the "I thought we said" problem and creates a clear record of the negotiation.

When you have multiple offers

Multiple offers are the strongest position you can be in as a seller. The decisions are different from single-offer negotiation.

Treat all buyers fairly. Inform every interested buyer that there are multiple offers. Give each one a clear deadline and a clear process for submitting their best offer. The standard process is "best and final offers in writing by [date], decision communicated by [date]."

Provide consistent information. Every buyer should know the same things: the offer process, the deadline, the criteria you will weigh (price, conditions, settlement period, deposit). Inconsistent information erodes trust and can result in withdrawn offers.

Do not bid against yourself. Avoid going back to a buyer with "if you went to $1.55M we would accept." This signals desperation and gives the buyer use. The right framing is "best and final offer", not "we need a bit more."

Be cautious about gazumping. Accepting offer A, then receiving a higher offer B and reneging on A, is technically possible if no contract has been signed but is reputationally costly. Once you have accepted an offer in principle, signing the contract quickly is the right move.

Weigh certainty alongside price. The highest price is not always the best offer if it comes with shaky finance, unusual conditions, or a buyer with a history of pulling out. A slightly lower offer from a clearly committed buyer can be the better choice.

Reading buyer signals

The buyer's behaviour during negotiation reveals their real position. Watch for:

Speed of response to your counter. A buyer who counters within hours is engaged. A buyer who takes 48 hours and then makes a small move is signalling they have other options or are uncertain.

Willingness to remove conditions. A buyer who agrees to remove a finance or inspection condition is signalling commitment. A buyer who insists on keeping all conditions is signalling they want the option to walk.

Tone in the negotiation. Buyers who get frustrated, defensive, or aggressive during negotiation often have less room to move on price than they would have you believe. Calm, measured negotiation usually indicates more flexibility.

Specific objections. A buyer who raises specific concerns (the carpet, the kitchen, the boundary fence) is usually negotiating from a real position. A buyer who only says "we cannot go any higher" without specifics often has more room than they claim.

When to walk away

There is a price below which you should not sell, regardless of how the negotiation is going. Set this number before the campaign starts, in conversation with your agent and with full awareness of the comparable sales evidence. This is your reserve.

If the negotiation reaches your reserve and the buyer cannot move further, you have a real choice: accept and move on, or hold and continue the campaign.

Holding has costs (campaign continues, marketing spend continues, the property ages on market). Accepting below reserve has its own cost (the price you accept). The right choice depends on your alternatives, your timeline, and your read on whether a better buyer is likely to emerge.

What you should not do is accept a price below your reserve in the heat of the moment, then regret the decision afterwards. If you are unsure, ask for 24 hours to consider. A serious buyer will give you that time. A buyer who refuses any time to consider is signalling that the offer is not as serious as it appears.

Keep emotion off the table

The hardest part of negotiation is keeping personal feelings out of it. Your agent should be the buffer here. Buyers who say things in negotiation that you would find offensive (lowball offers, criticism of the property, unreasonable conditions) often did not mean them as a personal attack. They are negotiating tactics. Reacting personally weakens your position.

The best negotiations are ones where both sides walk away believing they got a fair outcome. The seller who tries to "win" every point usually ends up with a contract that the buyer walks away from at the first opportunity, or a settlement that drags through disputes about adjustments. The buyer who tries to "win" every point usually ends up with a seller who is uncooperative on the small things.