Can a Seller Accept Another Offer While I Am Considering Their Counter-Offer in Ontario?

A seller can often keep talking to other buyers, but whether they can accept another offer while your counter-offer is open depends on the wording and timing of the documents, so confirm it with a lawyer before you rely on it. When an offer is received, the seller may accept it, reject it, make a counter-offer, or ask the buyer to revise it.

With competing offers, the seller may negotiate with one buyer while setting others aside, and does not have to take the highest price. A buyer who has made a written offer is entitled to know the number of competing offers, but not their amounts or conditions.

Where a seller has already accepted a conditional offer, that agreement is not final and binding until all its conditions are met or waived, and the seller may protect itself with an escape clause that gives the first buyer a set time, for example 48 hours, to waive or satisfy its conditions. If the first buyer waives or fulfils its conditions within the deadline, the seller must sell to that first buyer on the original terms. How and when an offer can be withdrawn is a separate question that turns on the exact paperwork.