Can You Make an Offer Before Your House Sells?

Can I make an offer on a house before mine sells?
Yes, you can ask the seller to accept an offer that depends on your home selling first. The seller does not have to say yes, and how likely they are to say yes depends on how fast homes in that price group are moving.

This is one of the first questions my move-up clients ask me. They have found a house they love, or they are afraid they will, and they have not listed their own yet. If that sounds like you, here is how it works in plain language.

What this kind of offer is

It is called a home sale contingency. It means your offer on the new house depends on the sale of your current one. The contract spells out how long you have to sell and what happens if you do not, so I walk through the exact terms with every client.

For the seller, it means waiting. They are taking their house off the table while something outside their control happens. That is why a contingency can make an offer look weaker.

How sellers see it depends on how fast homes are moving

I looked at Chesterfield (63017 and 63005), houses with three or more bedrooms, over the past 12 months, using MARIS closed sales through November 4, 2026.

• Houses priced right around the town median sold in about 3 to 4 days.
• Houses priced a little below it took about 22 days.
• Across all of Chesterfield, the median house sold in 8 days.

Across Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Chesterfield, Ballwin and Creve Coeur, the median house sold in 5 to 8 days. These are medians, so half sold faster and half took longer.

What that means for you: where homes sell in a few days, a seller is unlikely to wait for your house to sell, and a contingency offer will probably lose to a cleaner one. Where homes take a few weeks, a seller has more reason to listen. I wrote about those price groups in my Chesterfield post.

Ways to make the offer stronger

• Get your house ready first. If your home is priced, prepared and ready to list, the seller sees a shorter wait. If it is already listed or under contract, the seller sees an even shorter wait.
• Get pre-approved before you look. I connect you with a lender early. I do not give lending advice, but a lender can tell you what you could afford while carrying two homes and whether any bridge options exist. I keep an eye on Freddie Mac's weekly rate survey as well.
• Ask about timing. A shorter window to sell your house, or a closing date that fits the seller, can make the offer easier to accept.
• Be ready to move fast. In a quick price group, the first few days decide most of the outcome.

Other paths if a contingency will not work

Your other options are to sell first, or to buy first and carry both homes for a time. I laid out how to choose in my post on selling first or buying first. A contingency is one path, not the only one.

How I help you plan it

Before my clients start looking, we sit down and work through three things: how much cushion they have, how fast the homes they want are moving, and how ready their current home is. The answers usually point to the right order. It is much better to know that before you fall in love with a house.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make an offer on a house before mine sells?
Yes, you can ask the seller to accept an offer that depends on the sale of your current home. This is called a home sale contingency. The seller does not have to agree, and sellers in fast price groups often will not. In Chesterfield over the past 12 months, houses priced near the town median sold in about 3 to 4 days, based on MARIS closed sales through November 4, 2026.

Does a home sale contingency make my offer weaker?
Usually, yes, because the seller is waiting on something outside their control. It matters most where homes sell fast and several buyers are interested. It can matter less where homes take weeks to sell. In Chesterfield, houses in the price group just below the town median took about 22 days to sell over the past 12 months.

Should I list my house before I start looking?
Often it helps. A house that is already priced, prepared and listed or under contract makes your offer stronger and gives you a clearer picture of your proceeds. Whether it is right for you depends on your cash cushion, how fast the homes you want are moving, and how ready your current home is. I walk through that with each client before they start looking.

Thinking about a move?

If you are buying and selling in Chesterfield, Kirkwood or anywhere in the St. Louis Metro Area and West St. Louis County, I am happy to walk through the order that makes sense for you. Reach out any time.

Shari Whay, REALTOR®, Real Broker LLC
Helping you find your Whay home.
Serving the St. Louis Metro Area and West St. Louis County | shariwhay.com

Data source: MARIS Matrix, single family closed sales, Chesterfield by township, 3 or more bedrooms, Nov 4 2025 to Nov 4 2026. Town medians from MARIS closed sales through Nov 4, 2026. Pulled Nov 4, 2026. This is general information, not legal or lending advice.