Many a seller has mulled over this old chestnut after receiving an offer in the first few days of a campaign — and the deliberations can be agonising.
Do you wait until after the first one or two open homes?
What if the buyer walks away?
Can you trust your agent’s advice — or are they just chasing a quick sale?
In my experience, assessing an early offer is one of the trickiest parts of selling.
And trust doesn’t come easily in real estate. It hasn’t traditionally been a transparent industry, and it carries a reputation for being self-serving. So when someone says, “the first offer is usually the best offer,” it can create real consternation.
Rather than relying on clichés, here’s how to assess an early offer with logic instead of emotion.
Most sellers hope for a bit more than market — that’s human nature. (Agents tend to be the same with their own homes.)
Set aside the number in your head for a moment and compare your offer to the comparable sales in your written appraisal — all of them, not just the high ones.
Ask yourself:
This tells you something important: how statistically likely you are to see a similar offer again.
If your offer is already outperforming most recent sales, the burden of proof shifts. You’ll want solid evidence the market is likely to deliver better — not just hope.
Is the market rising, falling, or stable?
In parts of Auckland, momentum has shifted quickly in recent years. Understanding where your suburb sits today — not six months ago — matters.
REINZ provides suburb-level data on median days to sell.
If your agent hasn’t provided this, ask. Better still, ask for:
Longer median days often indicate:
If properties are taking 45+ days to sell and you’ve received a strong offer in week one, that’s information worth weighing carefully.
This is the one sellers often skip — because it can be hard to stay objective, especially when you’re living in the home.
“But my property is unique.”
You’re probably right. But the premium buyers place on uniqueness is closely tied to the level of demand for it.
Look at:
Then ask: How “hot” is your property within the current pool?
Once you’ve reviewed:
Ask yourself:
Is this offer statistically hot — or statistically average?
Your own analysis should give you a reasonable indication of how likely you are to receive another offer at this level.
It’s fine to want more than market.
But remember why you’re moving.
If you have a compelling reason to sell — upsizing, downsizing, separating, relocating — decisions guided by emotion rather than logic can cost dearly.
One of the saddest phrases in the English language is:
“If only we had…”
It’s surprisingly common for sellers to regret rejecting an early offer they should have taken.
While “the first offer is usually the best offer” isn’t always fact, it is normal to receive your strongest wave of buyer attention in the first couple of weeks on the market.
Emotional buyers can pay strong money — but they are also notoriously fickle.
If you’ve received a statistically high offer and market conditions don’t support the likelihood of better, I would respectfully suggest you consider taking your money and running.
If the data suggests you’re likely to see this level of offer again, giving the campaign time to pull more buyers through — and potentially create competition — can be a smart strategy.
One of the most powerful questions you can ask your agent is simple:
“Why?”
Why is this the right advice?
Why should we wait?
Why should we accept?
Asking “why” helps ensure you’re making an informed decision — and protects you from acting on opinion rather than evidence.
When you list your property, everyone suddenly becomes an expert: friends, family, the neighbour across the road.
If their advice runs contrary to clear market evidence, treat it with caution. Poor advice costs sellers thousands — frequently.
Analyse the data.
Consult your professionals.
Then make a decision you can stand by.
If you’re currently weighing up an early offer, make sure your decision is grounded in evidence — not emotion or assumption.
Good outcomes follow clear thinking.