How to Make an Offer on a House in Australia: A Broker’s Negotiation Playbook

By Andrew Paterson

Learning how to make an offer on a house in Australia is the part most buyers get wrong. Not because they lack the money. Because nobody tells them how the negotiation actually works.

Most guides out there are written by agents. And the agent works for the seller.

So here is the other side of the table. This is how I coach clients through a private-sale offer in Victoria, with the scripts, the mechanics and the finance levers agents have no reason to teach you.

Before you make an offer: get your finance right

You cannot negotiate hard from a shaky position. The strongest offers come from buyers who know their numbers cold.

Here is what needs to be sorted first:

• Formal pre-approval, not a five-minute online estimate
• Your true borrowing capacity at current rates
• Your deposit, plus stamp duty and buffer
• Your walk-away price, written down and kept private

The RBA cash rate sits at 4.35%, held at the August 2026 meeting, with the next decision due 29 September 2026. Rate movements shift borrowing capacity, so your pre-approval has a shelf life.

Pre-approval is indicative and conditional. Lenders can still decline after valuation or a change in your circumstances. Never waive a finance condition on pre-approval alone.

The two questions to ask the agent before you offer

These two questions do more work than anything else. Ask them casually, then listen.

1. How long has this been on the market?

Days on market is a leverage signal. A property that has sat for 60 days has a more motivated vendor than one listed last week.

The catch is that the figure depends entirely on who is counting and what they are counting. Providers measure differently, and a whole-of-LGA average can sit weeks below a single postcode. In Greater Geelong the gap between the council-area average and suburb-level data has run to almost three weeks.

So take the agent’s number as a starting point, not a fact. Ask what area and what period it covers, then cross-check it against an independent source before you decide how much room you have.

Do the same with vendor discount, the gap between asking and selling price. It tells you how far sellers in that market are moving off their initial price, which is a useful read on how much heat is in the market.

2. What matters most to the vendor: price, settlement or terms?

Not every deal is won on price. Some vendors want a fast settlement. Some want a long one so they can find their next home.

If you can flex on settlement, you may win the property without paying more. That is a broker’s-eye advantage and I will come back to it.

The rule that protects your budget: never reveal your ceiling

Never tell the agent your maximum price or your pre-approval limit.

The agent works for the vendor and is paid by the vendor. They are required by the professional conduct regulations to pass every offer to their client, and there is nothing stopping them passing on anything else useful you volunteer. Tell them you are approved to $850,000 and you should assume the vendor’s side now knows your cap.

When they ask your budget, deflect. Try:

• “It depends on the property and the terms.”
• “I am comfortable in this range, subject to the contract.”
• “My offer reflects the recent comparable sales.”

Stay vague on your ceiling. Stay specific on your reasoning.

Use the Statement of Information as your anchor

In Victoria the agent must give you a Statement of Information for any residential property they advertise. Ask for it in writing.

It contains:

• An indicative selling price, either a single figure or a range no wider than 10%
• The three most comparable sales
• The median price for the suburb

Those comparables are your negotiation anchor. Not the agent’s verbal “acceptable range”, which can still be soft.

The underquoting rules behind that document have been in force since 2017. The indicative price cannot sit below the agent’s own estimate, the seller’s asking price or a written offer already rejected as too low. Qualifying terms like “offers above”, “from” and “+” are banned outright.

Consumer Affairs Victoria refreshed its guidance on choosing comparable sales in November 2025, tightening how agents pick which properties to list. So if the comparables look cherry-picked, say so.

One date to have in your diary. From 1 October 2026 the Statement of Information is replaced by the Property Price Statement, which has to be displayed prominently in online advertising, include key features of the property and its comparables, and stay published online for 18 months with the eventual sale price added. Same job, more transparency.

If the numbers do not add up, you can report underquoting concerns to Consumer Affairs Victoria. It pays to stay alert generally, since many buyers struggle to spot property scams in the first place.

How much should you offer on a house?

Start below where you expect to land. Then let the counter-offers guide you.

Counter-offers are the vendor’s revealed signal. Each one tells you something about how close you are.

Escalate in small increments. Do not leap to your ceiling because the agent applies pressure.

A worked example

Say a home is listed with a Statement of Information range of $780,000 to $850,000. The comparables support around $800,000, it has been listed 48 days, and sellers in that market are landing about 5% below asking.

Here is how I would structure the offer:

Stage	Your move	Reasoning
Opening offer	$775,000	Below the range, anchored to comps and long days on market
Vendor counters $820,000	You lift to $792,000	Small increment, signals discipline
Vendor counters $805,000	You offer $800,000 clean terms	Meets the comps, sweetened with strong conditions

Notice the final move. You held near the comparable value and added value through terms rather than price.

These figures are an illustration only. Your position depends on the actual property, the vendor and current market conditions.

The finance lever agents cannot teach you

This is where a broker changes the outcome.

A subject-to-finance condition in a Victorian private sale usually runs 7, 14 or 21 days from signing. A long finance clause makes vendors nervous because the deal can fall over.

If you hold formal, unconditional approval, you can offer a shorter or cleaner finance condition. Vendors often value that more than a marginally higher price with a drawn-out clause.

Two buyers, same price. The one with a tight finance timeline usually wins.

A warning though. To rely on a finance clause you must:

1. Make a genuine loan application
2. Supply your documents promptly
3. Give written notice to the vendor’s conveyancer or lawyer by the deadline, not to the agent

Miss a step and you can lose the protection. Have a conveyancer draft and review the wording.

Get your offer in writing

A verbal offer is not enforceable in Victoria. Under section 126 of the Instruments Act 1958, a contract for the sale of land cannot be enforced unless it is in writing and signed. Nothing binds until the Contract of Sale is signed by both parties and the vendor’s acceptance is communicated to you.

This cuts both ways.

The upside: you can negotiate verbally with limited downside, which is exactly why the incremental approach works.

The risk: gazumping. Until that contract is signed and accepted, another buyer can jump in. A verbal “yes” from the agent secures nothing.

So move to a signed contract quickly once you have agreement.

Cooling-off and the private sale safety net

Victorian private sales come with a 3 clear business day cooling-off period under section 31 of the Sale of Land Act 1962.

If you pull out during that window, the penalty is the greater of $100 or 0.2% of the purchase price. On an $800,000 home that is $1,600.

It does not apply in every case. There is no cooling-off if you buy at a publicly advertised auction, or if the sale happens within 3 clear business days either side of one. It also does not apply where the buyer is a body corporate or an estate agent.

Confirm the details with your conveyancer before signing.

Private treaty versus auction: different games

The negotiation changes completely depending on the sale method.

Feature	Private sale	Auction
Cooling-off	3 clear business days	None
Subject to finance	Allowed	Not allowed
Negotiation style	Offers and counters	Bidding on the day

At auction there is no safety net. You need unconditional finance in place before you raise your hand.

Auctions are about to get more transparent. Under the Consumer Legislation Amendment Bill 2026, which passed both houses in August 2026 and commences 1 October 2026, agents must ask the seller for the reserve in writing and publish it as a single dollar figure for at least seven days before the auction. An auction cannot proceed if the reserve was not disclosed in time.

Until then the old rules apply. A reserve is often not set until auction morning, and it can sit well above the advertised range. So going into an auction before October, assume you do not know the number that matters.

Your offer scripts

Keep these ready.

Questions to ask:

• “Can I see the Statement of Information?”
• “How long has it been listed, and have there been any prior offers?”
• “What matters most to the vendor: price, settlement or a clean finance clause?”

Deflecting your budget:

• “My offer reflects the recent comparables.”
• “I would rather focus on the property than a number in the abstract.”

Framing your offer:

• “This is a strong offer with a short finance condition, backed by formal approval.”

Talk to us before you negotiate

The buyers who win are rarely the ones who pay the most. They are the ones who come in prepared, with clean finance and a plan.

If you are house hunting around Geelong or the Bellarine, sort your pre-approval first. Then negotiate from strength.

General information only, not financial, legal or tax advice. Rates and market figures are point-in-time and current as at the stated dates, so re-verify them before you rely on them. Get personal advice from a licensed broker and a conveyancer before you sign anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is a verbal offer binding in Victoria?

No. Under section 126 of the Instruments Act 1958 a contract for the sale of land is not enforceable unless it is in writing and signed. Nothing binds until the Contract of Sale is signed by both parties and the vendor’s acceptance is communicated to you. Until then the property stays on the market and you can be gazumped, so move to a signed contract quickly once you agree on price and terms.

How long is the cooling-off period in Victoria?

For a private sale it is 3 clear business days under section 31 of the Sale of Land Act 1962. If you withdraw during that window the penalty is the greater of $100 or 0.2% of the purchase price. It does not apply to purchases at a publicly advertised auction, to sales within 3 clear business days either side of one, or where the buyer is a body corporate or an estate agent.

Should I tell the agent my budget or pre-approval limit?

No. The agent works for the vendor, so assume anything you volunteer reaches the seller. Revealing your ceiling hands their side your cap. Stay vague on your maximum and specific on your reasoning, anchoring your offer to the comparable sales in the Statement of Information.

How many days on market means a motivated seller?

There is no fixed number, and figures vary widely by provider and by area. A whole-of-council average can sit weeks below suburb-level data for the same city. What matters is the gap: a property sitting well above the local benchmark usually points to a more motivated vendor and more room to negotiate. Always ask what area and period the agent’s figure covers, then cross-check it independently.

Can I put an offer subject to finance?

Yes, in a private sale you can. It typically runs 7, 14 or 21 days from signing. To rely on it you must make a genuine loan application, supply documents promptly and give written notice to the vendor’s conveyancer or lawyer by the deadline. Miss a step and the protection can fall away, so have a conveyancer review the wording. Auctions do not allow finance conditions.

Will auction reserve prices be published in Victoria?

From 1 October 2026, yes. Under the Consumer Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 the agent must request the reserve from the seller in writing and publish it as a single dollar figure for at least seven days before the auction, and the auction cannot proceed if it was not disclosed in time. Before that date a reserve is often not set until the morning of the auction.