What Makes an Offer a Lowball Offer, and How Should a Maine Seller Respond?

Measure the discount without treating it as a verdict

You can calculate the gap from asking price, but that arithmetic does not establish whether an offer is reasonable. An ambitious asking price can make an evidence-based proposal look unusually low. A modest discount can still be weak if it comes with substantial additional concessions.

Illustration: A $450,000 offer on a $500,000 listing is 10% below asking. Whether that is a poor offer depends on comparable sales, condition, competition, credits, and timing. The percentage is a description, not a market appraisal.

Ask for the reasoning behind the offer

Have your agent find out whether the buyer is responding to comparable sales, a repair concern, financing constraints, or simply testing your flexibility. Request useful supporting details without assuming every low proposal is made in bad faith.

Compare the strongest relevant closed sales and the alternatives available today. The NAR pricing guide emphasizes market evidence and the importance of considering terms alongside price. Your response should be anchored to a reason you can explain.

Turn the proposal into a complete comparison

List the price, requested credits, contingencies, proposed closing, deposit terms, and any included property. Ask what documentation supports the buyer’s financing or cash claim. Keep the same assumptions when comparing with another offer.

NAR’s multiple-offer guide explains that offers can differ materially beyond price. A lower number may be paired with useful terms, but cash or a short closing should still be verified and evaluated rather than treated as certainty.

Choose a response based on your position

You can discuss accepting, rejecting, or countering with your agent, subject to any obligations already in place. A counter might change the price, a requested credit, the schedule, or another term. Choose the change that addresses your actual concern.

Before responding, review the offer’s expiration and ask your attorney or agent how a counter affects the original proposal. Do not assume you can reject terms now and return to the same offer later. Keep communications factual and focused on the property and agreement.

Prepare a counter you would be willing to honor

Write down your target and your acceptable tradeoffs privately before negotiating. Avoid making a counter merely to send a message. If the buyer accepts, the terms should support a transaction you actually want to complete.

A useful explanation might identify the comparable evidence supporting your price or clarify that a repair concern has been professionally evaluated. Do not invent competing offers, conceal a defect, or imply there is a guaranteed later buyer. Your strongest case is a credible one.

Use the outcome to reassess the listing when needed

One low offer does not establish that the home is overpriced. Repeated offers in the same range, limited activity, and consistent feedback may justify reviewing the strategy together. Agree on what new evidence would change your position.

Get my free Maine Home Seller’s Guide through the Home Seller’s Guide form for the offer-comparison worksheet. Buyers can also request my Home Buyer’s Guide to prepare a documented offer and understand the next steps.

I’m Tony Duong with Landing Real Estate. Contact me to evaluate an offer in context. Sources reviewed October 25, 2026. Contract rights and deadlines depend on the actual agreement.