Here's What Happens When You Accept the First Offer You Get When Selling a Home

There may come a point when you decide it's time to sell your home. Maybe you want to downsize and spend less on a mortgage loan. Maybe you want to buy a home in a different city or neighborhood. Or maybe you no longer want to be a homeowner and would rather rent a home instead.

Either way, once you do your part to fix up your home and list it, all you can really do from there is sit back and wait to get offers. And you may be inclined to accept the first offer you get on your home.

But unless it's a really amazing number you're presented with, you may not want to jump at that initial offer. Rather, waiting for multiple offers to roll in could work to your benefit, especially in a housing market like the one we're in today.

It could pay to be patient

Getting an offer on your home can be exciting -- especially if you have a buyer who's willing to pay your asking price, or, better yet, more than your asking price. In recent years, both have been common.

In 2021 and 2022, around 80% of sellers sold their homes for at least their asking price, including 35% who received more than their asking price, according to data from Clever. Now that makes a lot of sense for 2021's housing market, which was red hot due to the fact that mortgage rates were so low.

In 2022, mortgage rates rose substantially, so bidding wars weren't as common that year as they were the year prior. But still, there's a reason so many sellers were able to command a price that was higher than their asking price for their homes last year: Low inventory.

Real estate inventory has been sluggish for years, and that's still the case today. As of the end of April, there was only a 2.9-month supply of homes for sale, as per the National Association of Realtors. It normally takes a four- to six-month supply of listings to meet buyer demand in full.

Because housing inventory is still low, you may not want to accept the first offer you receive after putting your home up for sale. Even if the offer seems generous, waiting for additional offers could leave you with a much higher sale price -- especially if you end up with multiple interested buyers who get into an extended bidding war.

Now in a buyer's market, it can be a good idea to accept the first offer you get when selling a home if it's a good one. But since that's not the case today, accepting your first offer could mean walking away with a lower sale price.

When your first offer is extremely generous

It's generally a good idea to entertain multiple offers on your home rather than settle for the first one you get. But if your initial offer is truly amazing, then it could pay to accept it.

Let's say you've listed your home for $500,000 and a seller offers you $550,000. That's a full 10% above your asking price.

It may be hard to get a better offer than that. So in that case, accepting your first offer could be a smart bet.

But if your first offer is for $505,000, that's only 1% above your asking price. In that situation, holding out at least a bit could work to your benefit. Even if another buyer only comes in at $507,000, that's still more money in your pocket.

Either way, though, if you're not sure whether to accept the first offer you get on your home, ask your real estate agent for their input. Based on their knowledge of the local market, home prices, and buyer demand, they should be able to advise you on whether to take the first offer you get and run with it, or sit tight and wait for more buyers to make competing offers.