An offer on a Queensland property is more than a number. Sellers weigh the whole package — price, deposit, settlement timing and conditions — and a slightly lower unconditional offer regularly beats a higher, heavily-conditional one. Here's what each component does.
Price, deposit and settlement period
The deposit signals commitment — larger and earlier is stronger. The settlement period is the time between signed contract and the day money and title change hands; sellers often value a settlement date that matches their plans more than an extra few thousand dollars in price. If you can be flexible on timing, say so in the offer.
The finance condition
"Subject to finance" gives the buyer a set number of days to obtain formal loan approval, with the right to walk away if it falls through. It's the most common condition and a sensible protection — but every extra day of finance condition is uncertainty the seller carries. Buyers with strong pre-approval can shorten it; cash buyers who waive it entirely make their offer dramatically more attractive.
The building and pest condition
This lets the buyer commission a professional inspection and withdraw (or renegotiate) if significant defects surface. Sensible buyers include it; smart sellers pre-empt it by fixing known issues or disclosing upfront, because a mid-contract renegotiation almost always costs more than the repair would have.
Subject to sale — the weakest common condition
An offer conditional on the buyer selling their own property first pushes all the timing risk onto the seller, and is usually the first offer culled from a competitive field. If you must offer subject to sale, expect to pay a premium or accept being treated as a fallback.
How this plays on an open offer board
On a transparent offer board, conditions are visible alongside price — a $820,000 offer with no conditions sits honestly against an $835,000 offer with 21-day finance and B&P, and the seller weighs them openly. Buyers quickly learn that tightening conditions is often cheaper than raising price.