How to make an offer on a house in Australia

You've found a place you want, but you're unsure what to offer or how far to stretch. I'd decide your opening price and maximum before the agent calls back, then check which dates you can safely offer.

That’s why I’d check the seller’s timing before offering more money. Katie’s purchase in Albion is a good example: we helped her offer a 25 day settlement instead of the other buyer’s 75 days. The seller chose her even though the competing offer was higher and in cash.

Sometimes the right offer is 10% below asking. Sometimes asking price is already low and even a full price offer will miss out. The percentage by itself tells you very little.

I’d look at 4 things: recent comparable sales, the home’s condition, how long it has been for sale and how much genuine competition exists. Then I’d choose an opening price and a separate maximum price.

If the agent says several buyers are competing, our multiple-offer guide explains what to confirm before submitting your final number.

I start with recent settled sales for similar homes in the same suburb, or nearby. I compare land size, internal area, condition, bedrooms and bathrooms to see whether the asking price stacks up.

For an apartment, I go closer again. I compare the building, floor, aspect, car space, body corporate costs and internal area.

Online estimates can help you find a starting point. I'd check them against the sales before choosing a price. Our property valuation guide walks through the comparison. If you're still organising your budget and loan, start with how to buy a house.

Herron Todd White's Month in Review can help you understand the broader market before you negotiate. Read the commentary for your area alongside the recent settled sales for homes like the one you're considering.

Download the comparable sales worksheet. Use recent sales and local evidence to check its starting assumptions.

A listing without a price makes it harder to know whether a property belongs on your shortlist. In Queensland, agents can't disclose an auction reserve or price guide. A private seller can also instruct the agent not to disclose their asking price. The Queensland rules on price disclosure explain the distinction.

The Property Seeker Chrome extension can reveal advertising ranges on supported property websites. Use that range to organise your search, then check the home against settled sales. It doesn't establish what the seller will accept or what the property is worth.

A 7 day finance clause can make your offer more appealing when the seller wants a quick decision. You keep a finance condition, and the seller gets an earlier date to find out whether your loan is approved.

Get us involved before choosing that date. We'll check your assessed pre-approval, current documents, the property and any valuation, then confirm the lender's expected timing. That preparation can give you more options than leaving the loan application until after you've signed. Our home loan pre-approval guide explains how to get ready.

Ask the agent how this sale will work. One agent may negotiate back and forth. Another may ask every buyer for their best and final offer. A seller may also accept before an advertised deadline.

Find out whether you’ll get a chance to negotiate before you choose your opening price. Our guide to negotiating a house price with the agent covers the phone calls and counteroffers in more detail.

Give yourself time to inspect properly, ideally more than once. Arrange the building, pest and other checks the property needs. Depending on the sale process, you may complete checks before signing or include contract conditions that give you time to act on the results.

Download our property inspection checklist and read our Brisbane FloodWise report guide before relying on a quick walkthrough.

Since 1 August 2025, Queensland sellers generally need to give buyers a seller disclosure statement and prescribed certificates before the buyer signs the contract. It is useful information, but it doesn’t replace your own legal advice, building and pest inspection or searches.

The official Form 2 warns that it doesn’t cover everything buyers commonly care about, including flooding history, structural soundness, pest infestation and some building or development approvals. Read the Queensland Government seller disclosure overview and ask your legal adviser what else to investigate.

If required disclosure documents are missing, or information is materially inaccurate or incomplete, contact your solicitor promptly. A right to terminate can arise before settlement, but the tests and exceptions differ. For inaccurate or incomplete disclosure, the rules include whether you knew the true position and would have signed had you known it. Your solicitor can establish whether a right applies and give the required notice.

A tenancy doesn’t simply disappear at settlement. Review the lease, end date, rent, bond, arrears, notices and maintenance history. If you plan to move in, make sure the contract promises vacant possession on a date you can rely on.

Queensland and Victoria have different tenancy rules, so confirm the position with your legal adviser before making the offer.

Buyers can spend days debating whether to offer $910k or $915k, then skim conditions that expose them to a much larger loss. Give the terms the same attention as the price.

The selling agent doesn’t act for you. Your solicitor or conveyancer should explain the contract, any special conditions and when the offer becomes binding. If you’re unsure who should help, see our comparison of a lawyer and conveyancer.

In Queensland, an offer is commonly made by signing the proposed contract, so review it before signing wherever possible.

A Queensland contract may split the deposit into an initial payment and a balance due on the date in the reference schedule. Check both dates and the named deposit holder, commonly the agent's trust account. Verify the payment details by calling a trusted number before transferring money.

The contract deposit is part of your overall contribution to the price. It can be due well before the lender releases funds, so confirm the money is available at the agreed time. If you're offering an unusually large deposit or payments before settlement, have your solicitor check the legal effect of that arrangement first.

The seller needs to know you can complete the purchase and meet the agreed dates. Make those terms clear alongside your price.

A lower offer can beat a higher one when its settlement date or conditions suit the seller and it feels more likely to reach settlement. Don’t remove a protection or promise a deadline you can’t safely meet just to look stronger.

For a shorter settlement, confirm when the lender can issue the loan documents, how soon you can sign them and how long the lender needs to check them. Your solicitor also needs time to complete the legal work and coordinate settlement. Have your cash contribution and insurance ready. Our signed contract guide walks through those steps.

A short, sincere note can help the seller understand why you like the home when 2 offers are otherwise close. Keep the price and workable terms at the centre of your offer.

Say what you appreciate about the home and that you’re organised and ready to proceed. Don’t reveal your maximum budget, promise that you’ll do anything to win or include sensitive personal information that is irrelevant to the sale.

If the report identifies defects, get the inspector’s explanation and suitable repair quotes. Give those to your solicitor so they can check your options under the contract. Our guide to renegotiating after a building inspection covers that conversation.

Ask the agent how the seller wants a formal offer submitted. It may begin with an email, expression of interest form or proposed contract. In Queensland, the agent may ask you to sign the contract as the offer.

Whatever the process, make sure every part of the offer is clear and your legal adviser has reviewed the contract before you sign. If you have already signed, use our contract-to-settlement checklist to keep the next deadlines moving.

Before responding to a counteroffer, pull out your written price limit and ask what has changed. If the agent wants another $10k, find out whether the seller has also changed the settlement date, inclusions or conditions.

Ask why your first offer wasn't accepted. A timing problem gives you different options from a price the seller won't move on. You can accept, counter, hold your position, suggest a date that suits the seller or walk away.

A verbal “the seller likes it” doesn’t mean the property is yours. The binding point, cooling off rights and cost of withdrawing depend on the state, sale method and contract.

Cooling off is not the same as a finance condition, and auctions are generally unconditional. Don’t use cooling off as a substitute for advice before signing. If the home is going to auction, work through our buying at auction guide before you bid.

In most Queensland contracts, the buyer becomes responsible for the property from 5pm on the next business day after the contract date, which can be well before settlement. Check the exact risk date with your solicitor or conveyancer and arrange the cover the contract and lender require.

For an apartment or townhouse, check what the body corporate policy covers and what you still need to insure yourself. Read our guide to getting insurance after an offer is accepted.

Your lender will check what the property is worth before confirming the loan. Its valuation may differ from the contract price or an online estimate. If the contract price or terms change after acceptance, send the revised contract to your broker and legal adviser. The lender may need to confirm the updated position before the finance deadline.

If you're selling another property to fund this purchase, tell your broker and solicitor early. The sale proceeds and purchase funds need to be available in the right order. Our simultaneous settlement guide explains how the transactions can be coordinated and why a delay in one can affect the other.