How Much Below Asking Should I Offer in San Antonio?

Short answer: there is no percentage. Anyone who tells you to offer 5% or 10% under asking is guessing, because the list price is not a fixed reference point. It is one seller's opinion, and it can be under the market, over it, or nowhere near it.

What actually determines your offer is how long it has been listed, what comparable homes actually sold for, and how many other people are looking at it. Those three things vary enormously between two houses on the same street.

Why the percentage rule fails here specifically

Texas is a non-disclosure state. Sale prices are not filed with the county and are not public record. You cannot look up what the neighbors paid. Zillow and Redfin show estimates, and the "sold" figures on those sites are frequently the last list price rather than the closing number.

That matters more than it sounds. In a disclosure state you could sanity-check an asking price yourself. In Texas the only reliable comparable sales live in the MLS, which means you are dependent on your agent's analysis in a way you would not be in Florida or California.

So the practical version of "how much below asking" is: ask to see the comparable sales the offer is based on, and ask which ones were rejected and why. That second question separates a real analysis from a number someone liked.

The three things that actually set your number

1. Days on market

The single most useful signal available to you, and it is public.

Under 14 days. The seller has not yet had to reconsider anything. In a desirable band you may be competing. Rarely the moment for an aggressive offer.

30 to 60 days. The seller is getting nervous. Their agent has started the price conversation. This is where reasonable offers get real consideration.

Over 90 days, especially with reductions. The position has shifted substantially toward you.

One caution: check whether the listing was withdrawn and relisted, which resets the counter. A house showing 12 days may have been on the market for eight months.

2. What comparable homes actually sold for

Not what they listed for. A list price is a hypothesis. A closed sale is a fact.

A real example from this spring in Harmony Hills. Three comparable three-bedroom homes, all built in the early 1960s, within a few streets of each other:

• Listed at $390,000. Renovated. Sat 56 days, sold below asking.
• Listed at $350,000. Renovated. Under contract in eight days at full price, no reduction.
• A similar-size home nearby sold at $314,000 that May.

The neighborhood median sale price in June 2026 was $314,890, down 10.0% year over year.

Look at what that tells a buyer. Offering under asking on the $350,000 house would have been a mistake. It was priced correctly and gone in eight days. Offering asking on the $390,000 house would have been a much worse one. Same street, same era, same condition, opposite advice.

Texas non-disclosure note: list prices and days on market above come from MLS listing data. Closing figures come from our own transaction file, because Texas does not publish them.

3. Competition

The thing you cannot see and have to ask about. Your agent can call the listing agent and ask directly whether there are other offers, how many showings there have been, and what the seller's timeline is. Listing agents often answer. Not asking is leaving information on the table.

When to offer at or above asking

• The house is priced under the comps deliberately to generate competition. Some agents do this on purpose and it works.
• It is brand new to market in a tight band and you would rather have it than win a negotiation.
• There are already offers. You are no longer negotiating against the seller, you are competing against other buyers.

The $350,000 Harmony Hills house above is exactly this case. Eight days, full price, no reduction. A buyer who opened at $325,000 to "start somewhere" lost it.

When a low offer is genuinely reasonable

• Long days on market with multiple reductions. The market has already told the seller.
• Condition problems the price does not reflect, especially foundation.
• The comps do not support the asking price and you can show that.
• The seller has a timeline problem — relocation, already bought another house, an estate sale.

A low offer is not an insult, it is an opening position. The worst outcome is a counter. The real risk is not offending someone, it is losing a house you actually wanted while trying to win $8,000.

The things worth more than the discount

A shorter option period. The paid, unrestricted right to terminate is your protection, and shortening it is a real concession, but one sellers value highly.

A larger earnest money deposit. Signals seriousness at essentially no cost if you intend to close.

Flexibility on closing date, or a leaseback. A seller who has not found their next house may value three weeks more than $5,000.

Appraisal gap coverage. Agreeing to cover a shortfall up to a stated amount. Powerful, and genuinely risky. Only offer it with cash you actually have.

Waiving inspection is a different category. In a region where foundation movement is common and expensive, waiving the inspection is not a negotiating tactic, it is accepting an unknown liability. We would not advise it.

Questions people ask

Is San Antonio a buyer's market right now?
It varies by neighborhood and price band, and citywide answers are not useful. Greater Harmony Hills was down 10% year over year as of June 2026. Ask for the numbers in your specific band.

Should I offer below asking on a brand new listing?
Usually not, unless the comps clearly do not support the price. In the first two weeks the seller has the most confidence and the most traffic.

What is a lowball offer?
There is no fixed threshold. On a correctly priced house at day 5, 10% under reads as unserious. On an overpriced house at day 150, the same number may be generous.

Will a low offer offend the seller?
Sometimes. The practical risk is not the emotion, it is a seller who disengages rather than countering. A brief explanation of your reasoning, sent with the offer, meaningfully reduces that.

How much earnest money is normal?
It varies with price point and local practice. What matters is that it is enough to signal seriousness and that you understand when it is refundable.

Should I waive the appraisal contingency?
Only if you can cover a shortfall in cash. It is a real commitment, not a formality.

Should I waive the option period?
We would not recommend it here. It is your only unrestricted exit and it is where the inspection happens. Shortening it is a reasonable concession; eliminating it is not.

What if the house does not appraise?
Common when a house sells above the comps. Either you cover the gap, the price is renegotiated, or the appraisal is challenged with better comparables. Decide which you can live with before you write the offer.

How do I make my offer stronger without paying more?
Shorter option period, larger earnest money, flexible closing, a leaseback if they need one, and a clean uncomplicated contract. Sellers value certainty.

Should I ask the seller to pay closing costs?
A normal request, and it comes out of the same pot as price. A seller frequently prefers a higher price with a concession to a lower price without one, because the price is what shows in the comps.

Does it matter if I am paying cash?
Yes, meaningfully. No financing contingency and no appraisal risk is worth real money, and cash buyers often win at a lower number than a financed offer.

What about new construction?
Different negotiation entirely. Builders resist price reductions because a lower recorded price affects the rest of the community, but they will frequently give on incentives, upgrades, and rate buydowns instead. And yes, use your own representation. The sales office works for the builder.

How do I know if the asking price is fair?
Ask to see the comparable sales, and ask which ones were rejected and why. In a non-disclosure state that conversation is not optional.

What if I am buying from out of state?
Common in San Antonio, particularly with military relocations. You need someone doing the property-level diligence you cannot do in person, and giving you an honest read rather than a sales pitch.

About The Trey Group

The Trey Group is a San Antonio real estate team operating under eXp Realty, serving Bexar, Comal, Kendall, and Guadalupe counties. J.J. Gorena handles commercial real estate and franchise tenant representation, TREC #522975. Robert "Bobby" Cortez handles residential sales and purchases, TREC #546997.

Want the comps before you write an offer?
Robert "Bobby" Cortez | (210) 454-8806 | homes@thetreygroup.com

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