Accepting an Offer Is Not the Finish Line
Most sellers and agents believe the hardest part of selling is getting an offer accepted. That belief is understandable. Preparation can be exhausting. Showings disrupt daily life. The waiting is uncomfortable. Once an offer is signed, it feels natural to relax. The problem is that opening escrow does not mean 100% certainty. It is a meaningful step forward, but it still represents conditional interest. And right now, conditions matter. Buyers today feel far more comfortable walking away than they did even a year ago. Nationally, more than 40,000 home purchase agreements were canceled in December, representing roughly 16 percent of all contracts that month. That was the highest December cancellation rate in over a decade. Higher monthly payments, rising inventory, and increased choice have buyers nervous.
How Escrows Really Fall Apart
In markets where buyers have more options, including some neighborhoods here in Southern California, cancellation rates tend to rise. When buyers believe they can find something better, or simply different, they are more willing to pause, renegotiate, or walk away. Most canceled escrows do not collapse because something catastrophic is discovered. They fall apart because a buyer hesitates, second-guesses, or decides the home no longer feels like the best option available. When this happens confidence wobbles, negotiations stretch and inspection periods become exit ramps. In California, this dynamic is reinforced by the structure of the standard purchase agreement. Unless contingencies are explicitly waived, which is extremely rare in SoCal, buyers can cancel during their investigation period with no real consequence. They do not need to justify the decision. They are entitled to the return of their full deposit, and the only money typically at risk is what they spent on inspections. That structure matters. The buyer’s early risk is limited, while the seller absorbs the disruption if the deal falls apart.
What Happens When Escrow Collapses
When an escrow collapses, momentum disappears. Sellers often feel blindsided. The home returns to the market with an invisible question mark attached to it. Even when nothing is wrong, perception shifts. The experience can be unsettling. Sellers may tighten up, overcorrect, or make reactive decisions they would not have made otherwise. This is where backup offers matter, not as a tactic, but as a stabilizer.
The Real Value of a Backup Offer
A backup offer does not exist simply to replace the first buyer, although it can. Its real value is psychological. Knowing there is another qualified buyer waiting changes how sellers experience escrow. Negotiations feel less threatening. Inspection requests feel less personal. The process becomes calmer and more grounded. That stability has practical benefits. Sellers who feel steady negotiate better. They are less likely to concede unnecessarily and more likely to stay aligned with their original strategy. From the buyer’s perspective, a backup offer can also reinforce commitment. When buyers know they are not the only ones interested, the fear of loss becomes real. And fear of loss is a powerful motivator.
The Bottom Line
An accepted offer is not the end of the journey. It is a phase where incentives are still shifting, and decisions are still being made. In markets where buyers have options, sellers need structure and leverage. Backup offers provide that quietly and without drama. They reduce dependence on a single outcome and restore a sense of agency during a phase that can otherwise feel uncertain. This is not pessimism. It is preparation. A backup offer does not guarantee success, but it does provide stability. That is why our goal is not simply to sell a home to one buyer, but to sell it to at least two, placing one or more in a backup position, ready to step in if issues arise with the first.
Tregg and Peter
