Everyone wants to know how far under asking they can go. The honest answer is that the asking price is the least important number in the negotiation. Here are two 2025–2026 deals I represented: one that closed $200,000 under the list price, and one where the buyer’s $1.1 million opener was rejected and they closed at $1.3 million.
Accepted: $200,000 under asking
| Year | 2025 |
| List price | $3,400,000 |
| Accepted price | $3,200,000 |
| Discount from asking | $200,000 (5.9%) |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 94.1% |
This was not a lowball. It was an offer at what the house was worth. The three closed sales that matched it on size, lot, era, and condition said $3.2 million; the seller had priced to $3.4 million hoping the market would meet them. When we wrote at $3.2 million with the comps attached, clean terms, and a short contingency period, the seller’s agent had a number they could defend to their client. The house had been sitting; the seller took it.
Rejected: the $1.1 million opener
| Location | West Hollywood |
| Property | Condominium |
| First offer | $1,100,000 — rejected |
| Closed at | $1,300,000 |
The buyer loved this unit. They also wanted to test the seller, so we opened at $1.1 million. The seller didn’t counter. Not a counter at $1.28, not a “come back with your best.” Silence. That is the real risk of a lowball: not that it gets rejected, but that it ends the conversation.
We reopened it. It took time and a better offer, and the unit closed at $1.3 million. Was that a loss? No. The buyer got the home they wanted at a price the building’s recent sales supported. The $1.1 million was never going to happen; what it cost was two weeks and some goodwill. The lesson is not “never go low.” It’s: know whether you’re testing or buying before you write the number.
What actually gets accepted
- Offers at the comps, on homes priced above them. That is the $3.2 million deal. The “discount” is the seller’s pricing error, not your negotiating genius.
- Offers under the comps, on homes that have sat. After 45–60 days and a price cut or two, sellers accept 3–5% under a correct price, and often credits on top. See how long LA homes sit before a cut.
- Offers with clean terms. Shorter contingencies, a lender the listing agent has heard of, a bigger deposit, flexibility on close date. Sellers take less money for less risk more often than buyers expect.
What doesn’t
- 10–15% under asking on a fresh listing with showings. You won’t get a counter. Most importantly, the same goes for a fresh price reduction: other buyers are seeing it too, and it can create a multiple-offer scenario.
- Lowballs with a long list of contingencies. Low price plus high risk is the worst combination for a seller.
- Offers that argue about the asking price. The comps are your argument. The asking price is irrelevant to it.
Questions buyers ask
How much under asking can I offer in Los Angeles?
Price to the comps, not to the ask. On a fresh, correctly priced listing, that means at or near asking. On a listing that has sat 45+ days, 3–6% under the current price is routinely accepted, and the examples above show 5.9% under on a $3.4 million list.
Will a lowball offer offend the seller?
It can end the conversation; the West Hollywood seller didn’t counter $1.1 million at all. If you want the house, open where the comps are and negotiate terms. If you’re testing a seller on a house you can walk away from, go low and accept silence as an answer.
Is it a buyer’s market in LA right now?
Inventory is up 9.9% year over year and 17.5% of listings have cut price (Realtor.com, October 2026). Buyers have leverage on homes that have sat; well-priced homes still draw multiple offers. It is a buyer’s market for patient buyers with a correct read on value.
Both examples are from transactions I represented as the buyer’s agent; figures are rounded, and the West Hollywood listing price is not published. No client names or addresses are published. Before writing an offer, request an Optics report on any home.
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