Should You Accept an Offer That Depends on the Buyer Selling Their Home?

By Jonathan Wallace, REALTOR® · Updated August 2026

An offer conditional on the sale of the buyer's property is worth accepting when the buyer's home is already listed, priced against recent comparable sales, and in a segment that is moving, and when your own listing has passed its first weeks of peak attention. Decline it when the buyer's home is unlisted, overpriced, or sitting behind another conditional sale.

Every seller wants the same thing from an offer: certainty. A conditional offer on the sale of the buyer's property gives you a price without giving you certainty, and the whole decision comes down to whether the price is worth the wait.

Whenever inventory builds and homes take longer to move, more buyers land in the same position: they own a home, they cannot carry two, and they are not willing to sell first and rent in between. So they write the offer anyway, with a condition attached.

What the condition actually does

The agreement of purchase and sale is signed and dated like any other. The difference is that it does not become firm until the buyer sells their existing property by a stated date. If that sale does not happen and the condition is not waived by the deadline, the agreement ends according to its own terms.

On the board, the listing changes status. In Ontario you will see sold conditionally, and where the seller has retained the right to keep marketing, sold conditionally with an escape clause. Those are market labels. Your actual rights come from the wording of the agreement, which is why the clause itself is worth reading line by line rather than skimming.

Why these offers appear when they do

They track inventory. When months of inventory climb and days on market stretch, selling first and buying later stops feeling safe to the average homeowner in Midland, Penetanguishene, Tiny Township, Tay Township or Wasaga Beach. Two moves, two closings and a possible rental in between is a lot to take on when nobody can promise how long their own house will take. In a fast market these offers nearly vanish, because a seller has no reason to entertain one. In a slower market they become ordinary.

So the buyer does the rational thing. They find the house they want, they offer on it properly, and they attach a condition that protects them from owning two homes at once.

Worth noticing: this buyer is usually local, usually moving up, and usually more emotionally committed than a buyer with no house to sell. That commitment often shows up in the number. A conditional offer at a price you would accept is not the same as a lowball with strings attached.

The escape clause, and what it does not do

An escape clause is the seller's protection. It lets you keep the home listed and keep taking offers while the condition runs. If a second acceptable offer arrives, you notify the first buyer, and they must either waive their conditions and firm up or release the agreement.

Three things sellers routinely get wrong about it.

1. The notice period is not standard. Twenty-four, forty-eight and seventy-two hours are all common in Ontario. The number that applies to you is the one written into your agreement, and how business days, weekends and holidays are counted depends on the wording. Confirm both with your real estate lawyer.
2. You need a real second offer to trigger it. An escape clause is not a change of mind. It gives you a route out when another buyer actually puts an offer on the table, not because you have decided you would rather wait.
3. A firmed-up first buyer is the likely outcome. Many buyers, faced with losing the house, find a way. That may mean bridge financing, a price drop on their own home, or family help. Plan for the first buyer staying, not for the second buyer winning.

What accepting one really costs you

Not the deposit, and not usually the price. The cost is attention.

A listing does its heaviest work in its first two to three weeks, when every buyer watching that price band sees it as new. Change the status to sold conditionally in that window and you spend the most valuable inventory you have. A meaningful share of buyers filter out anything that reads as sold, and never learn there is an escape clause attached.

That changes the math depending on where you are.

• Week one or two: the cost is high. You are trading peak exposure for a maybe. It usually takes an exceptional price to be worth it.
• Week four to eight: the cost is moderate. Fresh traffic has thinned. A committed buyer with a saleable home is now genuinely competitive with what else is coming.
• Past 60 days: the cost is low. A listing that has already outlasted the local average needs a live buyer more than it needs another quiet weekend.

The six questions to ask about the buyer's property

This is the whole decision. The offer document tells you very little. The buyer's house tells you everything.

1. Is it listed right now, and since when? An unlisted property is not a plan, it is an intention. If it is not on the market the day the offer is signed, the timeline is already behind.
2. What is it priced at against what has actually sold? Pull the last ninety days of comparable sales on that street or in that complex. A home priced above every recent sale is not going to sell inside a thirty day condition.
3. How long are comparable homes sitting in that market? Days on market varies widely by community and price band across Midland, Penetanguishene, Tiny Township, Tay Township and Wasaga Beach. Their local average matters more than the county-wide one.
4. Is there a chain behind them? If their buyer is also conditional on a sale, your closing now depends on three households instead of two. Chains break at the far end.
5. Is their financing arranged, and is bridge financing available? A buyer with an approval and a bridge option can firm up under an escape clause notice. A buyer without one cannot, no matter how much they want the house.
6. How long is the condition, and does it match the evidence? A thirty day condition on a home in a segment averaging seventy days is a condition designed to expire.

Two or more weak answers is a decline, or a counter that fixes the weakness.

How to structure it so it works for you

Accepting is not a binary. Most conditional offers can be countered into something workable.

• Insist on the escape clause. Without one, the home is off the market for the full condition period. That is rarely acceptable in a market with this much inventory.
• Tie the condition to a listed property. Require that the buyer's home be listed on the board at an agreed price by a specific date, and that a price reduction be permitted if it has not sold by a midpoint.
• Keep the condition period short and dated to evidence. Anchor the length to what comparable homes in their market are actually taking.
• Ask for a deposit that reflects the commitment. Deposit terms are set by the agreement, and a buyer who is serious about a conditional offer can usually demonstrate it here.
• Have your lawyer read the clause before you sign, not after. Notice periods, how days are counted, waiver mechanics and deposit return all live in the wording.

When to say no

Decline when the buyer's home is not listed, when it is priced above recent sales in its own market, when there is a chain behind it, or when your listing is inside its first three weeks and the price on the table is merely acceptable rather than strong. In those cases the condition is not a path to a sale. It is a pause with paperwork attached.

Common questions

What does sold conditionally with an escape clause mean in Ontario?

It means the seller has accepted an offer that only becomes firm once the buyer sells their own property, and the seller has kept the right to continue marketing the home. If a second acceptable offer arrives, the seller gives the first buyer notice, commonly 24 to 72 hours depending on the wording of the agreement, and the first buyer either waives their conditions or the agreement ends.

Should a seller in Midland or Penetanguishene accept an offer conditional on the sale of the buyer's property?

It depends on the buyer's property, not on the offer. Accept when the buyer's home is already listed, priced against recent sales, and in a segment that is actually moving, and when your own listing has passed its first three weeks of peak attention. Decline when the buyer's home is unlisted, overpriced, or sitting behind another conditional sale.

How long is the notice period on an escape clause?

The notice period is whatever the agreement of purchase and sale says it is. In Ontario, 24, 48 and 72 hours are all common, and the clock usually excludes weekends and holidays depending on the wording. Confirm the exact number and how it is counted with your real estate lawyer before signing.

Does accepting a conditional offer stop showings on my home?

Not legally, if an escape clause is in place, but in practice showing activity drops sharply. Many buyers filter out listings marked sold conditionally without checking whether an escape clause exists, so a seller in Midland, Penetanguishene, Tiny Township, Tay Township or Wasaga Beach should expect fewer requests for as long as the status holds.

What happens to the deposit if the buyer's home does not sell?

Deposit treatment is set by the wording of the agreement. Most agreements provide that the deposit is returned to the buyer if the condition is not fulfilled or waived by the deadline. Because this varies, a seller should have a real estate lawyer confirm the deposit language before accepting the offer.

Before you sign

If a conditional offer is in front of you, the fastest way to a good decision is to have the buyer's property analysed the same way your own was. Send the address and get in touch, and you will have comparable sales and a realistic sale window back inside a day. If you are still at the front end of the process, start with a free, no-obligation valuation.

Keep reading

• Selling your home in Midland, Ontario
• How your home gets sold
• Is now the right time to buy or sell in Midland, Ontario?

By Jonathan Wallace, REALTOR®, Faris Team Real Estate, Brokerage. 705-433-2525. This guide is general information about the Ontario resale market and is not legal advice. The wording of your own agreement of purchase and sale governs your rights, including notice periods, waiver mechanics and deposit treatment. Review any conditional offer with a real estate lawyer before signing.