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How to make an offer on a property

Ready to make an offer? Here are some steps to follow to move from offer to acceptance.

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  • Before making an offer, review the contract of sale with your solicitor or conveyancer to ensure everything checks out. Then, put your offer in writing to the real estate agent, including your price and any conditions like repairs or settlement dates.
  • Be ready for some back-and-forth with the seller. Once you agree on a price, you’ll exchange contracts, pay the deposit (usually 10%), and arrange insurance. Most states offer a cooling-off period, so check the details with your solicitor before signing.

Making an offer is one of the final steps towards owning your first home or investment property. It may seem complicated, but once you understand what’s involved, you’ll feel more confident about negotiating the best price for your new home and making an offer.

The process can vary between states and territories, but typically involves the following steps.

Review the contract

The vendor (or seller) must have a contract of sale prepared and available for inspection before offering a property for sale. The contract usually includes:

  • A zoning certificate from the local council
  • A copy of the title to the property as recorded in the Land Titles Office
  • Copies of documents outlining other registered interests over the property.

After inspecting the property (ideally more than once), if you're still keen to buy you can ask for a copy of the contract and review it with your conveyancer or solicitor to ensure it’s acceptable.

Make an offer

Next, put your offer in writing to the real estate agent. This should include how much you’re willing to pay, any conditions such as repairs or deposit amount and the settlement period. Your solicitor or conveyancer will help you prepare a letter of offer for the property you want to purchase.

Start negotiations

Your expression of interest will be passed onto the vendor and they will respond, kick-starting the negotiation process. You may be required to pay a holding deposit at this stage, to prove your offer is serious.

The vendor can receive expressions of interest from other people and even exchange contracts with them if they can get a better deal. If this happens, your holding deposit is refundable. Asking if anyone else has made an offer on the property can help assist with your negotiations.

Unlock our low variable rate with the Digi Home Loan

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  • 5.59 % PA
    Interest rate*
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    Comparison rate*

*Digi Home Loan (Owner Occupied Principal and Interest) for new borrowings with  Loan to Value ratio of up to 60%, when compared to CommBank’s other advertised loan rates. Min. new borrowings of $100,000. Comparison rate warning. 

Exchange contracts

Once you have agreed on a price with the vendor, you will need to exchange contracts and pay the full deposit, which is usually 10% of the purchase price. Your home lender and solicitor or conveyancer will support you through this process.

You should also arrange for home insurance at this time, as you’re the owner of the property from the date contracts are exchanged. Your contents insurance can begin from the time you move in. 

Cooling-off period

In most states, there is usually a cooling-off period after contracts are exchanged, unless you’ve bought a residential property at auction. You can cancel the contract during the cooling-off period, but you may lose your deposit. It’s important to check with your solicitor or conveyancer about whether a cooling-off period is available or applies to your contact before you sign.

You should also check the property during this time to make sure the condition of the building and inclusions are as per the contract.

Settlement

Settlement time is determined by the vendor but can be negotiated – usually it’s around four to six weeks. This is when you pay the balance of the property using your home loan, including stamp duty. You’ll then receive the keys and title deed to your new home. Happy days!

Introducing Home-in

We’ve partnered with Home-in, an innovative home buying app that helps simplify the process from finding your new property to settlement. Order reports and get legal contracts reviewed in one seamless app. You can try Home-in for free today. Plus, eligible CommBank customers can access $699 conveyancing with Home-in*.

You can either start your home loan application online or book time with a Home Lending Specialist, instantly.

Apply online

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Things you should know

This article is intended to provide general information of an educational nature only. It does not have regard to the financial situation or needs of any reader and must not be relied upon as financial product advice. As this information has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on this, consider the appropriateness to your circumstances.

* This offer is valid from 6 May 2025. To secure the offer you will need to engage the services of a Home-in partner law firm via the Home-in app on or after this date. If you engaged the services of a Home-in partner law firm via the Home-in app before this date, you are not eligible for this offer. This offer cannot be combined with other Home-in offers.

This offer is only available to CommBank customers who meet the following criteria:

(a) have an eligible CommBank transaction account: Smart Access, Complete Access, Everyday Offset, Pensioner Security (excluding Pensioner Security Passbook accounts) or Private Bank Account; and 

(b) fund an eligible residential property purchase with a CommBank home loan; and

(c) settle this property purchase using the in-app legal services provided through Home-in.

This offer only applies to buy-side conveyancing services for residential property purchases in Australia. Home-in does not offer conveyancing services for the purchase of off-the-plan, rural/agricultural, retail or commercial properties, or properties with a purchase price in excess of $5,000,000. Additional fees apply to conveyancing services in respect of complex titles (such as old system, leasehold and company titles), which are excluded from this offer.

This offer is only available through CommBank’s proprietary channels, it is not available to customers that originate through Bankwest, Unloan or a broker channel. 

If you settle on a property without meeting the eligibility criteria, this offer will not apply and you will be required to pay the standard list price for your conveyancing services. If you do not ultimately settle on a property purchase with Home-in within 6 months of your first contract review, any disbursements, contract review fees and ancillary service fees incurred will become payable to Home-in at the standard list price.

The $699 (including GST) offer includes the following conveyancing services: one standard contract review, reasonable negotiation with the vendor’s solicitor, preparation of documents and figures required for settlement and electronic or paper settlement for your property.

Disbursements are additional and charged at cost. For some property purchases, you may require or request additional services for which we charge a professional fee, such as expedited settlement or usage of a trust account.

Find out more about Home-in's pricing by visiting home-in.com.au/pricing. Home-in reserves the right to terminate the offer and change the pricing at any time.

Home-in is a brand of CBA New Digital Businesses Pty Ltd ABN 38 633 072 830 trading as Home-in Digital. CBA New Digital Businesses Pty Ltd is a wholly owned but non-guaranteed subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124. CBA New Digital Businesses Pty Ltd is not an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Cth) and its obligations do not represent deposits or other liabilities of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.