Key takeaways for sellers
- Nothing's binding until both parties sign. A verbal or in-principle “yes” isn't legally binding — you have a contract once it's signed by both of you, subject to any conditions in it being satisfied.
- The gap before signing is the risky bit. Until the contract is signed by both of you, your buyer can change their mind and another buyer can come in over the top. Neither of you is protected. The shorter that gap, the less can go wrong.
- Terms matter as much as price. A lower unconditional offer can beat a higher one that depends on the buyer's finance, their building inspector, or the sale of their current home.
What are you agreeing to when you accept?
Not just a number. Accepting an offer means accepting the buyer's whole package: the price, the deposit, when settlement happens, what stays in the house, and any conditions they've attached.
When are you actually committed?
Saying yes doesn't sell your house. An agreement to sell land has to be in writing and signed to be enforceable — that's the rule across Australia. A handshake, a phone call, an email saying “we accept”: none of it binds either side.
In a private treaty sale you're committed once the contract is signed by both of you. But what that moment means depends on where you are.
In New South Wales the negotiating happens first. Terms, conditions and the buyer's checks get sorted before anyone signs, and then contracts are exchanged — at which point the deal is settled and locked in.
In Victoria and Queensland it runs the other way. The buyer signs an offer, you accept and sign, and you have a binding contract from that point. Conditions like finance or a building and pest inspection sit inside that contract as terms still to be satisfied. So you're locked in, but the buyer may still have a way out until each condition is met or waived.
At auction it's different again. The winning bid binds immediately at the fall of the hammer, with no cooling-off.
An agent may take a small holding deposit with the offer. It's usually refundable and it doesn't bind either of you.
What actually protects you is the contract going unconditional. Before that point the deposit isn't really security — a buyer who exits under a condition they were entitled to use gets it back. Once every condition is satisfied or waived, that changes: the buyer is committed, and the deposit becomes what you'd be left holding if they walk away. See how the deposit works when selling.
What should you look at, beyond the number?
| Why it matters | |
|---|---|
| Price | The headline, but not the whole story |
| Deposit | How much, and when it's payable. A full deposit paid promptly says something about the buyer |
| Settlement date | Does it work with your next move? A long settlement is more time for something to change |
| Conditions | Finance, building and pest, or the buyer selling their own place. Each one is a way out |
| Inclusions | What's staying. Cheap to agree now, expensive to argue about later |
Why does a lower offer sometimes win?
An offer with no conditions and a settlement date that suits you can be worth more than a higher one that depends on the buyer's bank, their building inspector, and the sale of a house in another suburb.
Price is what you're offered. Terms are what you're likely to actually get.
What happens if you make a counter-offer?
Making a counter-offer legally rejects the original one. The buyer is no longer bound by what they offered, and if they've cooled off or found something else, you can't fall back on it.
That doesn't mean don't negotiate. It means know that the offer on the table disappears the moment you counter it.
What if there's more than one offer?
Agents handle competing offers differently. Some run a best-and-final round with a deadline. Some take sealed offers. Some just relay each one as it comes.
Ask your agent up front how they'll run it, and ask them to put the terms of each offer in writing, not just the price. Two offers at the same number can be very different once you read the conditions.
Where does a conveyancer come in?
Someone reads the offer properly before you sign it: the conditions and what each one lets the buyer do, the deposit and settlement terms, and whether the document in front of you actually says what you agreed to.
That last one matters more than it sounds. The version that comes back from an agent isn't always the version you discussed.
Zettle reviews every offer on a fixed fee, known before you start. Just Zettle it.