How Making a Property Offer Actually Works, Country by Country (2026)

Published on: June 15, 2026

Quick answer: "Offer accepted" is not the same thing everywhere. In England & Wales nothing binds until exchange of contracts (so you can be gazumped); in Scotland the deal binds early once missives conclude; at an Australian auction it binds the instant the hammer falls; and in civil-law Europe the price locks at the preliminary contract. Knowing which system you're in is how you avoid overpaying, or losing the property after you've spent on surveys.

"My offer was accepted." Four words that mean completely different things depending on which country you said them in. In one, you have a binding deal. In another, a rival can still outbid you tomorrow and you lose the house and your survey fee. In a third, you may not even be allowed to bid at all.

For cross-border buyers, the offer stage is the most under-researched part of the whole process, and the one where assumptions imported from home do the most damage. Here is how making an offer actually works across the major English-speaking and European markets in 2026.

England & Wales: the offer that isn't binding

This is the system that surprises buyers from almost everywhere else. In England and Wales, an accepted offer is "subject to contract" and carries no legal force until the formal exchange of contracts, which can be weeks later.

That gap is where two phenomena live. Gazumping is the seller accepting a higher offer from someone else after accepting yours, before exchange, perfectly legal, and you absorb the wasted survey, valuation, and legal costs. Gazundering is the mirror image: the buyer dropping their offer at the last minute, just before exchange, when the seller is committed and vulnerable. Neither side is locked in until exchange, so the period before it is a test of nerve, speed, and how motivated each party is. The practical defences are to move fast to exchange, keep your chain short, and not over-invest emotionally before you are legally bound.

Scotland: a different country, a different rulebook

Scotland, despite sharing a sovereign with England, runs an almost opposite system, and it is far more buyer-disciplined.

Sellers must provide a Home Report (a survey, energy report, and property questionnaire) up front, so buyers bid with real information. Properties are frequently marketed at "offers over" a base figure, and in a competitive sale the selling agent sets a closing date and invites sealed bids, each buyer submits one written offer, blind, by a deadline, and the best one usually wins. Once offers are accepted and formal missives are concluded between the solicitors, the deal becomes binding much earlier than in England, which largely removes gazumping. The flip side is that you need your finances and survey position settled before you bid, because you cannot dither once missives conclude.

Australia: the auction is the default, and the foreign-buyer wall

In Australia's major cities, the public auction is the normal way to sell, and it is unforgiving. When the hammer falls, the sale is unconditional and immediate: the winning bidder signs on the spot, pays a deposit (commonly 10%), and there is no cooling-off period at auction. There are no finance or inspection contingencies to fall back on, all of that must be done before you raise your hand. Properties sold by private treaty (ordinary negotiation) usually do carry a short statutory cooling-off period, with a small penalty for withdrawing.

For foreign buyers, though, there is a far bigger gate before any of this. Since 1 April 2025, foreign persons, including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies, have been banned from purchasing established (existing) dwellings, and in the 2026–27 federal budget that ban was extended to 30 June 2029. Limited exceptions exist (projects that significantly add housing supply; New Zealand citizens), and foreign buyers can still purchase new dwellings, off-the-plan apartments, and vacant land to build on, usually with Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval. The upshot: the classic Australian auction for an existing home is effectively closed to foreign buyers right now, your bidding is confined to new supply.

United States: the written offer and the art of the escalation clause

The US runs on a written offer plus earnest money, a good-faith deposit held in escrow that signals you are serious and is credited at closing (and at risk if you breach without a valid contingency).

The American offer is a negotiable instrument with several levers. Contingencies (financing, inspection, appraisal) let you exit cleanly if conditions aren't met, which is why a buyer who waives them looks far stronger to a seller. In competitive markets, two tactics dominate: the escalation clause, which automatically raises your bid by a set increment above the next-highest offer up to a cap, so you win without blindly overpaying; and the as-is offer, where you accept the property's condition to avoid repair negotiations and stand out. Earnest money, contingencies, escalation, as-is, the combination is the offer, and how aggressively you set each one is the negotiation.

Civil-law Europe: the offer locks the price early

In France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, the "offer" stage works through the preliminary contract or the notary rather than through open back-and-forth bidding. A reservation or preliminary agreement typically locks the price and the parties early, with a deposit attached, long before the final notarised deed. That changes the entire dynamic: there is far less of the rolling auction-style competition seen in the UK or Australia, but far more weight on the terms of that first signed document.

Because the money and the commitment go down at that preliminary stage, the deposit clause you sign is where your real exposure sits, see our companion guide, The Preliminary Contract Deposit Trap, for exactly how arras, compromis, and caparra decide what happens if the deal falls apart.

Making an offer at a glance

Frequently asked questions

What is gazumping?
A seller in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland accepting a higher offer after accepting yours, before contracts are exchanged. Legal, because nothing binds until exchange, and you lose any costs already spent.

When does a property offer become legally binding?
At exchange in England and Wales; when missives conclude in Scotland; at the fall of the hammer at an Australian auction; and at the preliminary contract or notarised deed in civil-law Europe.

Can foreigners buy at auction in Australia?
Generally only new builds, off-the-plan, or vacant land. Established dwellings are banned for foreign buyers from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029.

What is an escalation clause in a US offer?
A clause that automatically raises your bid above competing offers up to a set cap, used to win multiple-offer situations without overpaying blindly.

Know the rules before you bid

Bidding in a country whose rules you don't yet know is how good buyers overpay or get gazumped. JanusHermes lays out the offer-and-transaction process market by market across 50+ countries, browse listings and country intelligence on JanusHermes.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Auction terms, cooling-off rights, and foreign-investment rules change, confirm the current position with a local agent and lawyer before you bid.