How Long Do Sellers Have to Respond to Offers?

Since there isn’t a legal requirement regarding how long you have to respond to an offer, you can take as long as you like. There is no contractual time limit!

In fact, you don’t have to respond to a buyer's offer at all (not that we’d recommend it).

Our advice is to respond to any offer as quickly as possible. A same-day response is ideal, but if you need more time to consider the offer, we’d suggest getting back to the buyer within 24-72 hours or no more than three working days from when the offer was made.

How to Respond to an Offer

Accept It

 Firstly, you can accept an offer made. If the quality of the offer is strong and you’re happy with the interested buyer, you can accept the offer as it is. Added bonuses if they are cash buyers with a reasonable offer, or that it is chain-free.

Provide a Counter offer

 If you’re not happy with the offer, but you like the buyer, or you don't think you are far off saying 'offer accepted', you can go back with a counteroffer.

Outright Reject It

It’s usually better to make a counteroffer rather than flat-out rejecting it. However, just because a buyer makes an offer, you don’t need to accept it. If you’re not happy with the offer (or the buyer), you can reject it outright.

Remember, the buyer may still come back with another counter offer after you’ve rejected them.

What to Consider Before Responding to an Offer

If you’re not sure about whether you should accept the offer, speak to your estate agent for advice. While the decision is yours, they can provide their insight to help you decide.

Before you respond to an offer, consider the following:

Quality of Offer

Is the offer in line with your expectations?

Will it get you enough money to purchase the property you want to buy?

Consider how good the offer is and whether it’s realistic to expect more.

Market Conditions

Is it a buyers’ market right now?

Or do you have the upper hand as the seller?

If you were hoping for more, consider whether the market conditions are in your favour.

Buyers’ Situation

How desirable is the buyer to you?

Do they have a chain, or are they a first-time buyer?

Do they seem motivated and ready to get things moving?

Ask yourself these questions to see if the buyer and the offer they’ve made sits right with you.

Speak to an Agent For Advice

Ultimately, the decision about what to do with the offer you’ve received is entirely yours. But if your buyer has made an offer on a property you’re selling with that you’re not sure about, you can speak to one of our friendly agents in our office for advice on how to decide.

Give us a call today on 01925 222555  or send us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a chat with one of the team.