Insist it goes in writing. Say: "I understand it's below their expectations — please submit it in writing and let the vendor decide." Agents are paid on closes, not offers, so lowballs meet friction by design. In most jurisdictions the agent is obliged to present your written offer; repeated refusal or slow-walking is grounds to go to the broker.
Why they're saying it
An agent's commission arrives only when a deal closes, so an offer they think will fail is pure cost to them: an awkward conversation with their vendor, hours of paperwork, no cheque. "They'd be insulted" isn't market intelligence — it's the agent negotiating with you on the vendor's behalf before the vendor has heard a word. The vendor may be far more flexible than the person filtering their mail.
Writing collapses the game. A written offer on a standard template is minutes of work, creates a record, and in most places must be presented. Once it's in front of the vendor, the "insulting" number does its real job: it anchors the conversation and flushes out what the vendor will actually take — which is often a counter, not a refusal.
What to say back
"I appreciate the guidance, but it's the vendor's decision to make, not ours to pre-empt. Please put the offer to them in writing — if it's a no, I'd like to hear it from their response."
"I submitted a written offer on [date] and haven't had confirmation it was presented. Can you confirm in writing that the vendor has seen it? If there's an issue, I'm happy to raise it with your principal."
"The offer isn't a provocation — it's built on [comparable sales / the building report / days on market]. I'm attaching the numbers so the vendor can see the reasoning. If they see it differently, we're open to a counter."
Avoid these reactions
- Raising your offer to make the agent more comfortable. The agent is not the counterparty.
- Making the offer verbally, which lets it die in the agent's voicemail with no record it existed.
- Backing down after one "they'll never take it" — that sentence is the friction working exactly as intended.
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