Read Time: 4 minutes
“Can we negotiate the price?”
The short answer was yes.
The long answer took 20 minutes.
There’s no secret formula, but there is a checklist I use with every first-home buyer before we move.
First-home buyers hear a lot of conflicting advice:
“Definitely go below CV.”
“Make a low-ball offer.”
“Wait until it’s been on the market for a month".
However, negotiation only works if you understand your leverage.
Know thy enemy.
And most buyers skip that step.
Without a clear read on leverage, buyers either:
Worse, they don’t know when to stop negotiating — and lose the deal they actually want.
This doesn’t apply to auctions. Those are “as is” sales on fixed terms e.g. an auction.
But for listed properties and private sales, leverage lives in the details. Here’s what we work through:
Look for the three Ds:
These force sellers to act quickly—even if the timing or market isn’t ideal.
Building report findings (even minor) can be a huge lever—if they’re backed with quotes.
Here’s how it worked in a real case:
The sellers came back with $15K. We countered and landed on $30K off the purchase price. That figure had to be approved by the bank, but it worked.
Could we have pushed for the full $40K? Yes. But only if the client was ready to walk.
Here’s what that would have looked like:
That’s real leverage—but also real risk they could lose the property. In this case, the buyers didn’t want to push that far.
And that’s okay.
Knowing your own risk appetite is part of the game.
