Making an offer? Know the number — and the words.
Paste the listing and the agent’s messages. Negotiately helps you land on an offer plan, anticipate the counter, and draft what to say next.
$5 one-time · one full negotiation + 3 practice sessions · no subscription
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How it works
From their opener to your winning counter — in under a minute.
Paste what they said
Drop in the email, message, or opening offer — exactly as received.
Get the read
AI flags the tactics: anchoring, fake deadlines, authority plays, false scarcity.
Reply with confidence
Copy your AI-drafted counter. Send it. Know you left nothing on the table.
How to make an offer on a house
Work out how much to offer — before you say a word
Your number comes from comparable sales, not the listing price. Pull what similar properties in the same suburb sold for in the last few months, note how long this one has been on the market, and set three figures before you contact the agent: an opening offer you can defend with data, a target, and a walk-away number you will actually hold.
Know what the agent will say back
"The vendor was hoping for more." "We've had a lot of interest." "Another buyer is looking at it this weekend." These are the standard responses to almost any opening offer — the agent negotiates properties every day, and most buyers do it a handful of times in their life. Expecting the counter takes the sting out of it, and lets you answer with questions instead of a higher number.
Put the right conditions on your offer
In Australia, subject to finance and subject to building and pest inspection are the two standard conditions, and they exist to protect you. A clean, unconditional offer can be worth real money to a vendor — but only trade a condition away when you've genuinely covered the risk, like unconditional finance approval in writing. Conditions are negotiating currency; spend them deliberately.
Stay calm — and never bid against yourself
The most expensive mistake buyers make is raising their own offer before the vendor has countered with a number. If the agent comes back with a story instead of a figure, your offer is still the one on the table. Manufactured urgency works on rushed buyers; a firm walk-away number and calm, specific questions keep you out of that group.
What you’ll hear after you offer
The standard responses to an opening offer — decoded, with the words to say back.
More pressure lines, decoded: browse the full playbook. Offering without representation? See what an AI buyer’s agent covers.
Making an offer on a house: FAQs
About to make an offer?
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