Two Offers at the Same Price Aren't the Same Offer

A home we listed drew strong early interest. Then an offer came in, and the purchase price looked good.

What the price didn't show

The buyer also asked the seller to contribute toward their closing costs. That money comes out of the seller's proceeds. So the number at the top of the offer was not the number the seller would keep.

The offer also carried a third term, the length of the buyer's due-diligence period. Price, concessions and due diligence were all open to negotiation. Only one of them gets talked about.

The decision

We could accept the offer as written. Or we could counter, which gives the buyer a decision of their own and a chance to say no.

With that much early interest in the home, countering was a risk worth taking.

What we asked for

We did not ask for a higher price. We asked for a smaller closing-cost contribution and a shorter due-diligence period.

The second ask is easy to overlook. Due diligence is the window when a buyer can investigate the property and, under the contract, potentially walk away. A shorter window means the seller spends less time waiting to learn whether the deal holds.

What happened

The buyer accepted. The purchase price did not change. The seller's position improved by $5,500 before other expenses, and the due-diligence period was shorter.

Nobody had to pay more for the house. The change came from reading the terms next to the price and asking about them.

What a seller can take from this

When two offers arrive at the same price, they can leave you in very different places. Before you compare them, ask:

• How much of this price will I actually keep after concessions?
• How long can the buyer still walk away?
• What would I give up by countering, and what might I gain?

Every sale is different, and what is worth asking for depends on your home, your timeline and your market. Your agent should be able to show you the numbers side by side.

The price was the same. The offer wasn't.

Related reading

• Strategy should serve the homeowner, even when that means not selling.
• How we review and respond to offers as part of our selling process.

Details have been omitted or generalized to protect client confidentiality. The story is drawn from a real transaction.