The Art of the Counter Offer

Dear Phyllis,
After years of reading your real estate
advice, I have a question. My son and
his wife recently made an offer on a
condominium. It was very underpriced,
and there was a total of 12 offers. The
seller’s agent only responded to the three
highest offers. When my son checked the
final selling price, he was surprised it did
not sell for higher. It sold for $950,000; he
was prepared to offer $1,000,000. I wonder
why the seller’s agent did not respond to
all buyers. Janice

Dear Janice,
Thank you for being a longtime reader
and sharing your son’s experience. The
situation you described highlights the
nuances of managing multiple-offer
scenarios. The art of the counter offer:
maximizing price in a hot market.

In competitive markets, especially
when a home is intentionally priced below
market value to spark interest, seeing a
flood of offers is not unusual. However, how
the seller’s agent responds to those offers
depends on their strategy, experience and
sometimes the seller’s preference. Some
agents opt to narrow the field and issue
counteroffers only to the top contenders.
Their reasoning might be to streamline
the process, avoid overwhelming the seller
with too many options or focus on buyers
who have already shown strong financial
commitment. As you have pointed out,
it can leave money on the table if other
buyers, like your son, were willing to go
higher.

In contrast, my approach as a Realtor is
to respond to all offers in a multiple-offer
situation with a counteroffer that invites
buyers to submit their “highest and best”
price. This maximizes the seller’s chances
of getting the best price and terms. In
your son’s case, this method could have
prompted him to submit his $1,000,000
offer, potentially driving the price above
the $950,000 it sold for. While we cannot
know why the seller’s agent chose to limit
their counters, they may have misjudged
the pool of buyers or prioritized efficiency
over exhausting every opportunity.

That said, your son was not entirely out
of options even without a counteroffer
from the seller’s agent. He and his wife
could have proactively instructed their
Realtor to reach out and improve their
offer. In a hot market, buyers sometimes
take this initiative.

I wish your son and his wife the best in
finding their dream home!

Phyllis