You’ve spent the last few months looking for a home and now the only thing that stands between you and having the right to negotiate full ownership of the home you fell in love with is preparing an offer that will be acceptable to the seller.

The purchase and sales agreement is the first formal communication that leads to the final deal and eventually a closing when it’s time for you to take ownership of the property.

The total agreement between buyer and seller combines financial details with overall efforts of both parties geared towards reaching an agreement and working on the steps towards the closing itself.

Over the last five-plus years, it’s been a seller’s market, which means that in general, homebuyers were at a bit of a disadvantage as they competed with other buyers for a limited supply of homes that got snapped up quickly from the market. The graphic shown below shows about a 44% increase in offers on listings compared to 2018.