How to Handle a Lowball Offer Without Losing the Deal

By Tony Apa

Tony brings a wealth of experience and passion to his real estate career, consistently delivering exceptional service to his clients.

We’ve been seeing a lot more lowball offers come through recently, and we want to talk about how to handle them because we know how emotional it can get.

And let’s start with this: we don’t love the word “insulted” when it comes to offers. It gets thrown around a lot in real estate, especially between agents. “My client was insulted by your offer.” “My client’s insulted by your lack of offer.” But the truth is, getting insulted doesn’t help you sell your home. It’s just a transaction. It’s just real estate. And the sooner you can approach it that way, the better position you’re in.

First, understand the offer. Before you react, take a second to understand why the buyer came in where they did. A lot of times, buyers are reading headlines or hearing news stories about the market falling apart or homes selling under list price. But that’s very specific to each neighborhood and each home. Just because a home has been on the market for 100-plus days doesn’t mean a buyer can walk in 10% under list and expect you to take it. Most sellers have significant equity in their home and they’re not just going to accept whatever number gets thrown at them.

But here’s the thing: you have an offer to work with. A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush. That’s an old saying but it holds up. Having a real offer on paper, even a low one, gives you something to negotiate from.

Second, stay calm and look at the data. Sometimes as listing agents, we’ve already told our sellers what the home is likely worth and what to expect. And sometimes they don’t agree. They put on a new roof, they did some updates that matter to them, and they believe the home is worth more. That doesn’t mean those improvements don’t matter. It just means they don’t always translate dollar for dollar into the sale price. So you have to look at the facts. What’s the macro and micro market doing? What’s happening in that specific neighborhood? If the home has been sitting for 100 or 200 days, there’s probably something going on.

And one more thing on this point: please stop asking ChatGPT what you should do with your offer. We know it’s a cool tool, and it does pull decent comps. But it’s not always accurate, and it doesn’t have the emotional intelligence to give you the kind of advice that actually matters in a negotiation. If ChatGPT told you to go 10% below list, that’s probably not always a good idea.

Third, counter with confidence. This is where a lot of sellers go wrong. They get so worked up by the number that they refuse to even engage. But not countering is leaving an opportunity on the table.

We always tell our sellers and buyers that we work in three steps. Step one is getting the offer accepted. That’s the hard part. Step two is the inspection period, which is a whole separate negotiation. And step three is getting to closing. So even if you counter just below your list price, you’re showing good faith and keeping the conversation moving. You still have the inspection period ahead, and unless you did a pre-inspection, you might not know what’s coming.

The goal is to find the middle ground where everybody walks away feeling like they got a fair deal. We actually had a lawyer who used to say, “My job isn’t done until everybody walks away unhappy.” We’re the opposite. We want everybody to walk away happy, and that starts with finding a number that makes sense for both sides.

And finally, know when to walk away. If the buyer comes in extremely low and isn’t willing to move on their counter, that’s probably not a serious buyer. It could be someone looking way outside their price range, just throwing offers at the wall to see what sticks. We always tell our buyers that it’s so much easier to work with a seller when you come in closer to their list price. That’s their starting point, their marketing price. It doesn’t mean they won’t negotiate, but you’re setting a completely different tone from the beginning.

If someone comes in $100,000 under and is already asking for a new roof before the inspection, the seller knows right away. We know to tell the seller that this person probably won’t ever be reasonable. So we counter, we see if they’re willing to engage, and if they’re not, we let the offer die on the vine and move on.

The bottom line is this: lowball offers are a starting point, not a final answer. The sellers who do best are the ones who stay calm, counter with real data, and know when to hold firm and when to let go. Most of the time, there’s a deal to be made if both sides are willing to work toward it.

If you’re selling in Oregon and you want a team that will help you handle whatever comes your way, we’d love to help. Call or text us at 503-300-6224, email us at tony@apaclarketeam.com, or visit apaclarketeam.com. We’re always here to talk it through.