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Have you ever received an offer on your home that made you wonder if the buyer was even serious? Maybe it came in much lower than you expected, and now you’re sitting there thinking, “What do I do next? We get it. A lowball offer can feel like a slap in the face. But here’s the thing: lowball offers are part of the negotiation process, and whether you’re selling your home or making an offer on one, they don’t have to throw you off balance.
Before you fire back with a rejection or walk away, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on why this is happening. Lowball offers are often used to see how flexible you are. The buyer is looking for a good deal, and as the seller, you’re looking to see if you can get a fair price. So let’s walk through the four ways we respond to a lowball offer to keep you in control.
1. Understand the offer. Before you react, you need to understand where the buyer is coming from. This is something we do every time we get a lowball offer: we pick up the phone and call the other agent. We don’t text or email; we call. We’ll say, “Hey, we got your offer, and we’d love to work with you. Tell us where your buyer is coming from.” We want to know if they’re just one-shotting it, firing off a number to see what sticks, or if they’re actually expecting a counter and a serious negotiation.
Are they trying to get the best deal? Do they not fully understand the market? Or, and we’re seeing this a lot lately, are they using AI to craft their offer and negotiation strategy without really knowing what they’re doing? We can tell you right now, AI has never actually bought a home. Reading between the lines like this gives you a solid starting point for how you want to counter.
2. Stay calm and collected. Sometimes you have to woosaw the whole experience, because when a really low offer comes in, your first instinct is to want to punch something. That’s a very natural reaction. So give yourself a minute to freak out, then take a deep breath, because a knee-jerk reaction won’t help us sell your home. Whether you’re the buyer or the seller, you need to keep a level head and not get rattled by a lowball offer or a nothing-burger of a counteroffer if you’re the buyer.
When you stay calm, you show the other party that you’re in control. Appearing too eager or too upset can actually put you at a disadvantage. Remember, this is a business negotiation you’re living in, which we know is difficult, but you’ve got the upper hand when you stay composed.
3. Counter with confidence. If they’ve come in low, don’t be afraid to push back with a fair counter that feels right to you. The key is to stay reasonable but firm. We always two-step our counters. The first one takes a bigger jump, especially if we’re far apart, to signal that we’re serious and we want to work with you. The second one might take a baby step from there to say, “We want to play ball, but we’re not sure how far we’ll come down.” When you counter, be clear about the home’s value: the updates, the upgrades, everything you’ve put into it. We also send over nearby comps to justify the pricing, and we highlight the strengths, whether that’s location, market demand, or how many showings we’ve had.
Back it up with solid facts, because the numbers don’t lie. So if you’re selling and a buyer comes in $50,000 under asking, you don’t fire back with “no way” or tell them to go take a hike. Instead, we respond with something like, “We appreciate your offer, and based on recent sales in the area and the condition of the home, what we’re looking for is going to be closer to X.” That shows we’re reasonable and clear about the value we’re bringing.
4. Know when to walk away. Sometimes a lowball offer just isn’t worth your time. It’s not serious; they’re one-shotting it, and you’re not going to get there. But here’s what we want you to think about: if the buyer is testing you and might actually be expecting a counter, we firmly believe you always respond. It may not land where the buyer wants it to, but we never let it die on our side. You would be shocked at how many times a buyer tests the waters with a lowball.
They’ll brag at happy hour, “Oh, I lowballed the heck out of them,” but what they don’t mention is that they came up close to asking price because they really wanted the property. We’ve had sellers look at an offer and say, “Absolutely not, there’s no way this works,” and lo and behold,the buyer sees the value and comes right up to the price we wanted anyway. That’s why we always counter.
When it comes to handling lowball offers, it all comes down to understanding the offer, staying calm, countering with confidence, and knowing when to walk away. If you’ve dealt with a lowball offer or used a strategy like this before, we’d love to hear about it, because these are the fun, juicy stories that make real estate so interesting. And if you’re thinking about selling and want a team that will protect your price and negotiate hard on your behalf, we’re here to help. Call or text us at (214) 267-9222 or email Seychellesells@vanpoole.com, and you can find more at dallasarealiving.com. We’d love to talk through your situation.
