Subject to Sale Offers: Why More Are Getting Accepted in Perth

A subject to sale offer used to be the offer vendors avoided. In a tight market, telling a seller "I'll buy your house once I sell mine" was often enough to get skipped over in favour of someone unconditional.

That's changing. Perth listings are above 6,000, homes are taking longer to sell, and roughly three in ten houses are selling below asking. Sellers have less leverage than they did a year ago, and more often than not, the subject to sale offer isn't a compromise, it's simply the highest and strongest offer on the table.

I'm seeing it with my own clients. More of these offers are going in, and more are getting accepted. But "accepted more often" doesn't mean easy. Your offer still has to be strong, and you need to understand exactly how the clause works before you sign.

What It Actually Means

You're telling the seller: I'll buy your property, provided I sell my own within an agreed period. In WA it's written as a special condition in the Offer and Acceptance contract. Once the seller accepts, it's a binding contract, not a casual reservation. WA has no automatic cooling off period, so don't sign until you're genuinely ready to be bound by it.

How to Make Your Offer Strong

• Get your own property market ready now, not once you find the right home. Painting, repairs and presentation sorted within the week.
• List it, or better, get it under offer, as early as you can. The further along your sale is, the more seriously a seller takes your offer.
• Lock in finance and pre-approval, and talk to your broker about bridging finance as a backup before you need it.
• Get a realistic written appraisal before you offer, not a hopeful one, so you don't overprice your own home and burn through your window.
• Keep everything else about your offer clean: price, deposit, settlement terms. The subject to sale condition should be the only thing you're asking the seller to wear.

The Two Business Day Clause

Sellers will usually keep marketing while your offer stays subject to sale. It's known as the two business day condition, still commonly called the 48 hour clause. If another offer comes in, you generally get two business days to either satisfy your condition or waive it and proceed regardless.

Waiving is where it gets risky. If you waive without a genuine way to settle, such as bridging finance, cash, or an unconditional sale already in place, and your own sale falls through, you can lose your deposit and face real financial exposure. Sort your fallback with your broker and settlement agent before you're in that window, not during it.

Quick FAQ

Why are more subject to sale offers being accepted in Perth right now? More listings and slower sales mean sellers have less negotiating power. But more often than not, it isn't a compromise. The subject to sale offer is simply the highest and strongest offer on the table.

Does a subject to sale offer mean I can offer a lower price? No. The condition is the concession you're asking for. Price and terms still need to stand on their own.

What happens if I can't meet the two business day deadline? You'll typically need to withdraw and your deposit is returned. The risk sits on the other side: waiving the condition to keep the property without a funded fallback.

Buying and Selling at the Same Time? Let's Get the Sequence Right.

Getting your own sale market ready, your finance sorted, and your offer genuinely competitive all need to happen in the right order, mostly before you find the property, not after.

Book a free 15-minute call →
Phone: 0421 830 232
Email: info@shanepatrick.com.au

"Your unfair advantage in the property market."
Shane O'Donohoe, Perth Buyer's Agent