How to make an offer.

The estate agent communicates offers to the seller. You can submit an offer by phone, by email, in person at a viewing, or through an online bidding platform that some agents operate. The process is the same whether you are buying a house or an apartment.

Some sales run through an online platform. Online platforms can be used for auction bidding or private-treaty offers, so check the platform's rules and the terms for that particular sale before you submit anything: deadlines, minimum increases and whether it commits you. If you are unsure about that last point, talk to your solicitor first.

Look at the Property Price Register for comparable recent sales in the immediate area: same property type, similar size, recent date. The asking price is the seller's starting point. Comparable sales are the realistic anchor. What to open with depends on several things and does not follow a formula. The state of the market plays a part, and so does how the asking price was set in the first place.

A recorded sale price on its own does not tell the whole story. The sale advertisement may still be online, and an image search for the address can help you find it. Check that it is the same property and relates to the sale you are comparing. The photographs and description show how it was marketed at the time, not necessarily its full condition then or its condition now.

Factor in any work you have identified that the property needs. A given asking price on a property that needs significant immediate work is not the same offer as the same price on a fully renovated equivalent.

Your ceiling is the maximum purchase price you are comfortable committing to, with room left for buying costs, any immediate work, and a reasonable buffer. Decide it before your first offer, and write it down. A ceiling decided in the middle of a bidding war is not a ceiling; it is a reaction. Where multiple bidders are competing, focus on your own ceiling rather than on second-guessing rival bids.

Your position is part of your offer, and it can be worth real money to a seller. A first-time buyer has no property to sell: no chain, and no risk of a linked sale collapsing. Approval in principle helps show you are prepared, but it does not guarantee your mortgage or a closing date. Flexibility on the closing date can matter more to some sellers than the last few thousand euro. Say these things plainly when you offer. A seller may prefer a lower offer from a buyer they can see will complete, and the selling side knows to look: our selling guide tells sellers to ask their agent whether each bidder is cash or mortgage, has approval in principle, and is in a chain. Make those answers easy to give. If the bidding runs through an online platform, that is where the number goes, but the agent is still the person advising the seller. Make sure they know your position.

Being straightforward to deal with is part of position too. Turn up when you say you will, respond promptly, and have your documents ready.

Before the first counter-offer arrives, think about whether you would increase your offer and what increases would stay within your ceiling. You do not have to increase it. The point is to decide your steps in advance rather than improvise them under pressure.

You can ask for time to think. Bear in mind that the seller may keep talking to other buyers while you decide. A few sentences cover most situations, and using them does not make you a difficult buyer; it makes you a considered one.

Have someone to talk it over with. The agent has the seller to consult; you can have someone to talk things through with too. A partner, a family member, your solicitor, your surveyor. Deciding out loud with someone who is not in the room is different from deciding alone on a phone call.

The seller can accept, reject, or counter your offer. Most negotiations move through several rounds. The agent's role is to maximise the seller's outcome, so treat any "this is the seller's best price" comment as a negotiating position rather than a closed door.

You can keep viewing other properties while negotiations continue. Keeping alternatives in mind can help you stick to your ceiling and walk away if this property stops working for you.

If the negotiation runs above your ceiling, walk away. Do this clearly: tell the agent you are out at this price level, and ask them to come back to you if the situation changes. Walking away is a routine outcome and not a reflection on you. Sale agreed can revert to for sale, and buyers who left the door open are sometimes the first call when it does.

The estate agent is engaged by and paid by the seller. They act for the seller. They are bound by the Property Services Regulatory Authority's code of practice, which includes obligations to be honest in their dealings, but their commercial loyalty is to the seller. They are not your adviser, and you should assume that details you volunteer about your offer may reach the seller. Do not share information with the agent that you do not want the seller to have: your maximum price, your timing pressure, your reasons for buying. You can be prompt, credible, straightforward, and warm without ever disclosing your ceiling.