How to Make an Offer on a House in QLD: Steps, Rules and What Makes an Offer Strong
By Tim AllenBuyer’s Agent and Director, IPS Buyer’s Agents
To make an offer on a house in QLD, ask the selling agent how the seller is taking offers. Usually you can make a verbal offer, fill in a written offer form, or put your offer into a contract of sale the agent provides, with your price, deposit, settlement date and conditions.[1] Nothing binds you or the seller until you have both signed the contract, and most residential contracts then give you a 5-business-day cooling-off period.[1][2]
Price is only part of an offer. A seller also weighs your settlement terms, the conditions you attach and any other terms you ask for,[3] and whether your finance is ready. This guide covers the preparation, the price, the seller’s reply and the auction rules.
Key takeaways
- You can usually offer verbally, on a written offer form or in a contract of sale, but only a contract signed by both you and the seller binds either of you.[1]
- Conditions you need, such as finance, a building and pest inspection or the sale of your home, must be written into the contract or they won’t be binding.[1]
- If a listing shows no price, the agent may be barred by law from giving a price guide, so your figure has to come from your own research.[4]
- Most residential contracts have a 5-business-day cooling-off period, but contracts formed at auction don’t, and neither do contracts with a registered bidder in the 2 business days after a pass-in.[2]
- Ending a contract during cooling-off costs up to 0.25% of the price, which is $1,875 on a $750,000 home.[5]
How making an offer works in Queensland
Most Queensland homes are sold by private treaty: the seller advertises, invites offers, negotiates, usually through an agent, and signs a written contract with a buyer. Some are sold by tender instead, where buyers submit offers by a closing date and the seller picks the best one or rejects them all.[6]
The agent you deal with works for the seller. Queensland’s conduct standards require an agent to act on the client’s instructions, and the price at which an agent offers to sell must follow the seller’s written instructions.[7] Use the agent for information about the home and the sale, but base your offer on your own research.
Three ways to put an offer
| Way to offer | What it is | Does it bind anyone? |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal offer | You tell the agent your price and terms, in person or by phone | No |
| Written offer form | Your price and terms on a form, signed by you | No: it records your offer, but it is not the contract |
| Contract of sale | You fill in the contract the agent provides with your price, deposit, settlement date and conditions, and sign it | Yes, once the seller signs it too[1] |
A signed contract is the firmest offer you can make, because the seller only has to sign it for you to have a deal. Before you sign, the seller must give you the seller disclosure statement, and you should take a copy of the contract to your solicitor: the Government’s advice is not to be pressured into signing before you have legal advice.[1] Our guide to the REIQ contract of sale in QLD explains each part of it.
The rules are the same when a home isn’t advertised. For off-market property in Brisbane, the selling agent contacts a small circle of buyers and buyer’s agents instead of running a public campaign, but your offer still goes into a contract with the same cooling-off rules.[5] If the owner is selling with no agent at all, see buying a house privately in QLD.
What to have ready before you make an offer
Before you make an offer, have these in place:
- Pre-approval. Moneysmart says pre-approval lasts 3 to 6 months, helps you set a price range and shows sellers you are serious, but final approval still depends on the lender assessing you and the property.[8] The mortgage brokers we work with can help you get it.
- A solicitor or conveyancer, ready to read the contract before you sign it.[1]
- Inspections, if you can arrange them. The Queensland Government suggests arranging inspections before you start negotiating, so you understand the home’s condition and can factor future costs into your offer. If you can’t, write a term into the contract that lets you end it after a poor report.[9] See building and pest inspections in Queensland for what they cover.
- The disclosure documents. The seller must give you the seller disclosure statement before you sign the contract.[1]
- Your deposit. Know how much you can pay and how quickly, because the contract will set both.[8]
Once you make an offer, tell your lender you have found a property and apply to finalise the loan.[8] For the order of the whole purchase, see buying a house in QLD in 12 steps.
Start with recent sales of similar homes nearby,[3] then allow for the home’s condition and anything an inspection turns up.[9] Decide your opening offer and the most you will pay before you speak to the agent; the REIQ suggests settling your final top price before you negotiate.[3]
When the listing shows no price
For a home going to auction, the agent must not tell you the reserve price, a price likely to succeed or a price guide. For other sales, the agent can’t give a price guide or a likely selling price if the seller has told them not to disclose a price.[4] A price range that brings the home up in a website search is only a search setting, not a price guide. Before an auction, the auctioneer may offer you a comparative market analysis of similar sales, but only with the seller’s approval.[10]
An independent valuation
The warning statement in a residential contract recommends an independent property valuation before you sign.[5] A valuer’s figure checks your own research, especially where comparable sales are few. Our guide to bank, independent and online valuations explains the differences, and our property calculators show what a higher or lower price would mean for your costs.
A written offer sets out the price, the settlement terms and any other terms, such as fixtures or furnishings you want included, along with your name, your contact details and when you want an answer.[3] Each term changes how the seller weighs your offer.
| Term | What it covers | Point to note |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The amount you offer | Keep it below your walk-away price, so you have room to move |
| Deposit | How much you pay, and when | Normally due within 2 to 3 days of the contract becoming binding; a part deposit paid with an offer comes back if the seller rejects it[1] |
| Finance condition | Whether the contract depends on your loan approval | Binding only if it is written into the contract[1] |
| Building and pest condition | Your right to end the contract after a poor report | Needed if you can’t inspect before you offer[9] |
| Sale of your home | Whether the purchase depends on selling your current home | Also binding only if it is in the contract[1] |
| Settlement date | When you pay the balance and get the keys | The contract sets the time and date[1] |
| Inclusions | Fixtures and furnishings that stay or go | Put them in writing[3] |
| Response time | How long the seller has to reply | State it in the offer[3] |
Conditions protect you, but each one leaves the seller waiting. A short finance period, inspections done before you offer, or a settlement date that suits the seller can make an offer more attractive than a higher one with more conditions. In one of our Caboolture purchases, we secured a two-bedroom unit for $517,500 even though the selling agent had a competing offer of $525,000; a tight conditional contract and a fast settlement were part of the offer.
If you need to sell before you can buy, our guide to upgrading with a subject-to-sale offer explains how to make that condition work.
The seller can accept your offer, reject it for any reason or come back with a counteroffer, and offers can go back and forth until you agree or one of you walks away.[3]
Counteroffers
If your offer was on a contract, the seller may change the price or terms and send it back for you to consider. A counteroffer like this doesn’t need a fresh warning statement, as long as the property and the parties stay the same.[5] Have your solicitor check every change before you sign.
Other buyers
Your offer may not be the only one: a seller may reject an offer because a higher one, or several, have come in.[3] In a sale by tender, the seller looks at every offer after the closing date.[6] If the agent asks for best offers by a deadline, decide beforehand whether you will improve your price, your terms or neither, and don’t let the deadline take you past your limit.
When you are committed
Until the seller accepts, you can generally withdraw your offer.[3] The contract binds you both once you have both signed it, and the dates in it, such as when the deposit is due, run from then.[1][3] The same rule cuts the other way: until both signatures are on the contract, the seller can still accept a better offer from someone else, which is often called gazumping. Once you agree on terms, get the contract signed promptly.
Most residential contracts carry a cooling-off period of 5 business days. It starts on the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both parties, or the next business day if that is a weekend or public holiday, and ends at 5pm on the fifth business day.[2][5] If you receive the signed contract on a Monday, in a week with no public holiday, you have until 5pm on Friday.
To end the contract in that time, give the seller or their agent a signed written notice before the deadline. The seller can keep up to 0.25% of the price and must refund the rest of your deposit within 14 days.[2][5] On a $750,000 contract, 0.25% is $1,875.
You can also waive or shorten the cooling-off period by written notice to the seller.[5] That can make an offer more appealing when other buyers are interested, but it removes your simplest way out, so talk to your solicitor first. Our guide to the cooling-off period in QLD has the detail.
The usual order after you both sign
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| You and the seller have both signed | The contract is binding[1] |
| The day you receive the signed copy | Cooling-off starts[2] |
| Normally within 2 to 3 days | You pay the deposit, as the contract sets out[1] |
| 5pm on the fifth business day | Cooling-off ends[2] |
| The dates in your contract | Your finance and building and pest conditions fall due |
| 2 to 3 days before settlement | You inspect the home again[9] |
| Settlement date | You pay the balance and get the keys[8] |
See when a contract becomes unconditional and the settlement process in QLD for what comes next.
A contract formed at auction has no cooling-off period, and the terms of sale usually require you to bid without conditions such as finance or the sale of another home.[10] If you win, expect to pay the deposit straight away; Moneysmart gives 10% of the price as an example.[8]
Offers before auction day
You can ask the agent whether the seller will consider an offer before the auction. A contract signed before auction day isn’t formed at auction, so the cooling-off period applies unless you waive it,[5] and it can include conditions if the seller agrees to them.
When the home is passed in
If bidding stops below the reserve, the home is passed in and you can negotiate with the seller; the auctioneer may give the seller your details so that can happen.[10][7] Timing matters. If you were a registered bidder and you sign a contract by 5pm on the second clear business day after the auction, there is no cooling-off period. Agree after that and the cooling-off period applies.[5][10]
Our guide to buying at auction in Brisbane covers pre-auction offers and passed-in homes in more detail, and vendor bids at auction explains the bids an auctioneer can make for the seller.
IPS Buyer’s Agents works only for buyers, never sellers. We research comparable sales, help you set your opening offer and walk-away price, attend inspections and negotiate with the selling agent, then work with your broker, building and pest inspector and solicitor through to settlement. We also search for homes that aren’t advertised and bid for clients at auction. Our buyer’s agent services page explains how we work.
- Finance. Pre-approval in place, and your walk-away price decided.[8]
- Inspections. Done before you offer, or a building and pest condition in the contract.[9]
- Disclosure. The seller disclosure statement received and read before you sign.[1]
- Advice. Your solicitor or conveyancer has read the contract.[1]
- Conditions. Every condition you need is written into the contract.[1]
- Deposit. Funds ready to pay the deposit holder named in the contract on time.
- Timing. You know when your cooling-off period starts and ends, or that you won’t have one.[2]
This article is general information only, current at November 2026. It is not legal, financial or tax advice and does not consider your circumstances. Check the rules for your purchase with your solicitor or conveyancer before you act.
If you are about to make an offer, book a time with Tim Allen to talk through your price and terms.
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Contract of sale for buying a home (last updated 23 July 2025)
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Cooling-off period (last updated 28 October 2020)
- Real Estate Institute of Queensland — How to make an offer on a house (21 December 2023)
- Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld) — Section 216, Real estate agent not to disclose reserve or other price (reprint current from 1 August 2025)
- Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld) — Part 7, Residential property sales, sections 159–168 (reprint current from 1 August 2025)
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Selling by treaty or tender (last updated 13 April 2026)
- Property Occupations Regulation 2014 (Qld) — Part 5, Conduct standards, sections 22 and 25 (reprint current from 1 July 2022)
- Moneysmart (ASIC) — Buying a house (last updated 14 October 2026)
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Inspections (last updated 22 August 2024)
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Buying property at auction (last updated 14 October 2024)
Is a verbal offer on a house binding in Queensland?
No. Nothing binds you or the seller until you have both signed the contract of sale, so the seller can keep talking to other buyers and you can change your mind. To show you are serious, put your offer in writing, ideally in the contract itself, with your price, deposit, settlement date and conditions.
Can you withdraw an offer on a house in QLD?
Generally yes, until the seller accepts it. Once you have both signed the contract you are bound, but for most residential sales you can still end it during the 5-business-day cooling-off period by signed written notice, and the seller can keep up to 0.25% of the price. There is no cooling-off period at auction.
How much deposit do you pay when you make an offer in QLD?
The contract sets the deposit amount and when it is due, so both can be negotiated; once the contract is binding you normally pay within 2 to 3 days. A part deposit paid with an offer doesn’t secure the home and is refunded if the seller rejects your offer. At auction, expect to pay straight away: Moneysmart gives 10% of the price as an example.
Why won’t the agent tell me the price?
For a home going to auction, Queensland law bars the agent from giving a price guide, the reserve or a price likely to succeed. For other sales, the agent can’t give a price guide or likely price if the seller has told them not to disclose one. Base your offer on recent sales of similar homes and an independent valuation.
When does the cooling-off period start in QLD?
On the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both you and the seller, or the next business day if that is a weekend or public holiday. It ends at 5pm on the fifth business day, so a signed contract received on a Monday, in a week with no public holiday, can be ended until 5pm on Friday.
Can the seller accept a higher offer after agreeing to mine?
Yes, until you have both signed the contract. A verbal agreement or an accepted offer form doesn’t bind the seller, so another buyer can still come in with a better offer, which is often called gazumping. The best protection is to get the contract signed by both parties quickly, with every condition you need written into it.