Seller's Guide
The Real Cost of Selling a House in Quebec
Most sellers calculate their net proceeds like this: sale price, minus the mortgage balance, minus broker …
Real estate negotiation has nothing to do with being the toughest person in the room. It has everything to do with being the most prepared.
Here are five strategies that apply systematically, on the buyer side and the seller side alike.
1. Set Your Maximum Before You Fall in Love
This sounds obvious. Almost nobody does it properly.
Most buyers walk into a property, feel the space, imagine their life there, and then try to assign a rational number to an emotional experience. By that point, their judgment is compromised.
The right sequence is: analyze the comparable sales, determine fair market value, set your maximum offer, and only then visit the property. If you love it, that’s good. But you already know the ceiling, and you hold to it.
In a bidding war, the emotion intensifies. The artificial deadline, the knowledge that others want the same thing, the fear of losing: all of it pushes buyers above their ceiling. Buyers routinely pay $40,000 above the price they had set as their maximum, convinced they could “make it work.”
They couldn’t. Not comfortably.
A $5,000 overpay feels small in the moment. Spread over 25 years with interest, it is significantly more. And you will be reminded of it every month.
The rule: set the number first. Before the visit. Before the offer. Before the bidding war starts.
2. Use the Five Levers, Not Just Price
Most people think real estate negotiation is about price. Price is just one of five levers, and it is often the least flexible one.
Closing date: A seller who needs to move quickly will sometimes accept a lower price in exchange for a fast closing. A seller with no rush will pay a premium in price to get the date they need. Ask the right questions and you will know which situation you are in.
Conditions: An offer with fewer conditions is more attractive than an offer with many, even at the same price. A pre-sale inspection (done before submitting the offer) can allow you to remove the inspection condition while still having the information you need.
Inclusions: Negotiating the appliances, the furniture, the outdoor equipment into the sale reduces your post-closing expenses. This has real financial value, even if it doesn’t change the stated purchase price.
Deposit amount: A higher deposit signals commitment and seriousness to the seller. In a competitive situation, this subtle signal can make a difference.
Flexibility: Sometimes what a seller values most is someone who will work with them on their specific constraints: where they’re going next, how much time they need to pack, whether they can leave certain items. Understanding what actually matters to the seller gives you more room to move.
3. Let the Data Do the Talking
The most powerful negotiating position is one grounded in facts.
A below-asking offer should always come with a comparables analysis attached. “Here are the three properties most similar to yours that sold in this neighbourhood in the past 90 days. Here is their price per square foot. Here is how your property compares on the key variables. Based on this analysis, the price offered reflects what the market has recently paid for equivalent properties.”
An opinion invites argument. Data invites discussion.
The same applies from the seller’s side. A low offer deserves a response built on data, not emotion. “Here is why the asking price is supported by the market. Here is the analysis used to set it. Here are the specific sales that confirm it.”
Data changes the conversation from an opinion about value to what the market actually says.
4. Understand the Other Party’s Real Situation
Every negotiation has a stated position and an underlying interest. The stated position is the price. The underlying interest is what the seller actually needs, and those are often different things.
A seller who is three weeks away from their new property’s closing date has a very different set of interests than a seller who has months of flexibility. A seller in a divorce situation has different priorities than a seller who is downsizing after retirement. An estate sale is different from an owner-occupied sale.
The more you understand about what the other party actually needs, the more accurately you can structure an offer that works for them, while protecting your own interests.
In practice, this means asking questions through your broker before submitting an offer. Why is the seller selling? Where are they going? What is their timeline? The answers shape the strategy.
5. Master the Silence
The most underused negotiation tool is saying nothing.
After submitting an offer or a counteroffer, the natural instinct is to fill the silence: to explain, to justify, to soften. This almost always weakens your position.
Submit the offer. State the reasoning if appropriate. Then wait.
The party that feels most urgency to break the silence is usually the one who blinks first. Patience communicates confidence. It suggests you are prepared to walk away, even if you’re not entirely. And a seller who is not sure whether you’ll stay in the conversation will often move toward you to keep it alive.
The same applies during verbal negotiations. When the other side makes a concession, don’t immediately accept or escalate. Pause. Think visibly. Then respond. This simple habit saves buyers and sellers thousands of dollars.
The Bidding War: A Special Case
Multiple offers require a different approach entirely.
In a bidding war, your ability to win depends less on negotiation and more on preparation. The buyers who succeed are those who:
- Have a solid pre-approval letter ready to attach
- Have already done their financial analysis and know their ceiling
- Can move quickly: visiting within 24 hours, deciding within hours, not days
- Understand that offering at asking price with clean conditions is often more effective than offering above asking with many conditions
A strong offer in a bidding war is not necessarily the highest. It is the most credible, the cleanest, and the one that gives the seller the most confidence that the deal will close.
The Underlying Principle
The best negotiations in real estate are not won; they are structured. Both parties walk away feeling that the outcome was fair. That mutual sense of fairness is what keeps transactions from falling apart after the offer is accepted.
The goal is not to extract the maximum advantage from the other side. It is to achieve the best possible outcome for the client in a way that closes the transaction successfully.
The difference matters more than most people realize.
Navigating a negotiation in the Montreal or Laval market? Get in touch to review your strategy before you submit.
Georges Matar
Residential Real Estate Broker · RE/MAX DU CARTIER INC.
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