Making an Offer on a House in NH: Step by Step

Quick answer: Making an offer on a house in NH means signing the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® Purchase and Sales Agreement itself — there is no separate "offer to purchase" step like Massachusetts uses. You state the price, an earnest-money deposit (usually 1–3%), your contingencies and dates, attach your pre-approval, and give the seller 24–48 hours to respond. The moment they sign and acceptance is communicated, the home is under agreement and every deadline in the contract starts running.

If this is your first time making an offer on a house in NH, the process is faster and more binding than most buyers expect. In July 2026 the statewide median single-family home sold for a record $580,000, homes went under contract in 23 days, and there were only 2.7 months of supply, according to the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® Monthly Indicators. In Manchester, July sellers received 103.3% of their original list price on average; in Bedford, 101.6% (NHAR Local Market Update, July 2026). That is the market you are writing into. Here is the step-by-step, in the order it actually happens.

Step 1: Get the two documents you need before you tour

No listing agent in southern New Hampshire will take an offer seriously without a lender pre-approval letter (or proof of funds for cash). A pre-qualification is not the same thing — see our pre-approval vs. pre-qualification explainer. Get the letter dated within the last 30 days and, ideally, issued for the exact price you're offering rather than your maximum, so you don't tip your hand.

Second, since August 2024 you must have a signed written buyer agency agreement with your agent before touring homes. It spells out what your agent does and how they're paid; we cover the details in what a buyer's agent does in New Hampshire. If you plan to ask the seller to cover your agent's fee, that request goes into the offer — so the agreement has to exist first.

Step 2: Read the listing before you price the offer

Our first move before writing any offer is figuring out which of two markets the house is in. Over the past several weeks our own listings have split cleanly: some well-priced homes drew multiple offers the first weekend, while others sat for a week or two and closed under asking with seller-paid terms. Same towns, same month. Days on market, price history, and how the listing agent answers "how many showings so far?" tell you which one you're looking at. A house at day 3 with a Saturday open house and 20 showings gets a different offer than the same house at day 24 after a price cut. Making an offer on a house in NH without this read is how buyers overpay on slow listings and lose fast ones.

Then your agent pulls closed comparable sales from the last 90 days — not Zillow's estimate — and you set three numbers: your opening offer, your walk-away price, and what you'd pay if a competing offer appears.

Step 3: Write the offer on the NHAR Purchase and Sales Agreement

This is the part that surprises buyers from Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, the offer is the contract. Your agent fills out the NHAR standard-form Purchase and Sales Agreement, you sign it, and it goes to the seller as your offer. If the seller signs it unchanged, you're done — no second round of attorney-drafted paperwork two weeks later. (We break down every section of the form in our P&S agreement guide.) The fields that decide whether you win:

• Purchase price. In a multiple-offer situation, this is rarely the only thing the seller weighs, but it's the first thing they look at.
• Earnest money deposit. Typically 1–3% of the price, held in the listing brokerage's escrow account and credited back to you at closing. A larger deposit signals commitment; it does not change what you pay. Full detail in how much earnest money you need in NH.
• Financing terms. Loan type, down payment, and the date by which you'll have a written mortgage commitment (commonly 30–35 days). Cash offers skip this and often win on certainty even at a lower price.
• Inspection contingency. A window — usually 7 to 14 days from acceptance — to inspect the home, well, septic and radon, then renegotiate or walk away with your deposit. Shortening it to 7 days helps; waiving it is a decision to make with open eyes, as we explain in should you waive contingencies on a NH offer.
• Appraisal language. Whether you can exit if the home appraises low, and whether you'll cover any gap in cash up to a stated amount. In Bedford and Manchester, where homes averaged above original list price in July 2026, an appraisal-gap clause is now common.
• Closing date. 30–45 days is typical for a financed purchase. Ask what the seller wants — matching their timeline is free and often beats another $5,000.
• Inclusions and exclusions. Appliances, window treatments, the generator, the shed. Write it down; verbal promises don't survive closing.
• Seller concessions. A request for the seller to credit closing costs or pay your agent's fee. Reasonable on a slow listing, a handicap on a fast one.

What is an escalation clause, and should you use one in NH?

An escalation clause says you'll beat any competing bona fide offer by a set increment (say $2,500) up to a cap. It's legal in New Hampshire and it can win a bidding war without you paying your cap on day one — but it also tells the seller exactly how high you'll go, and some listing agents simply ask everyone for highest and best instead. Use it only when your agent has confirmed there are competing offers. We'll publish a dedicated escalation-clause guide shortly; until then, the mechanics of competing are in how to win a bidding war on a NH home.

Step 4: Submit it with an expiration and a package

Your agent sends the signed agreement, the pre-approval letter, proof of your deposit funds, and a short cover note to the listing agent. Set the offer to expire in 24 to 48 hours. Without a deadline the seller can sit on your offer while shopping it to other buyers. If the listing has an announced offer deadline ("highest and best by Monday at noon"), your expiration should land a few hours after that.

How long does a seller have to respond to an offer in NH?

Legally, until your expiration — there is no statutory response period. In practice, on a listing with one offer you'll usually hear back the same day or the next morning. The seller has four options: accept as written, counter (which legally rejects your offer and creates a new one), reject outright, or call for highest and best from all buyers. A counter typically comes back on the same form with changes initialed. You can accept the counter, counter again, or walk. Each round usually gets a 24-hour window. If you hear nothing by your deadline, the offer is dead and you owe nothing.

What does "under agreement" mean in New Hampshire?

Once the seller signs and that acceptance is delivered back to you, the house is under agreement (you'll also see "under contract" or "pending" on listing sites). Three things happen immediately: your earnest money is due to the escrow holder, usually within 1–3 business days; your inspection clock starts, so the inspector should be booked the same day; and your lender opens the file and orders the appraisal. The seller can still accept backup offers, but they cannot sell to someone else while your contract is in force. Miss a written deadline — inspection, financing commitment, deposit — and you can lose contract protections, so keep a dated checklist from day one.

Where this goes next

An accepted offer starts a 30–45 day sprint: inspections, appraisal, commitment, title, walk-through, closing. Our buyer clients in Bedford, Manchester and across southern NH get a dated timeline the day we go under agreement. Mortgage rates matter to that timeline too: Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed at 6.71% on September 3, 2026, so ask your lender about locking once you're under agreement rather than at application.

Ready to write one? If you're within 60 days of making an offer on a house in NH, book a buyer consultation — we'll map the towns and price band you're shopping, walk through the NHAR form clause by clause, and introduce you to a local lender who can turn a pre-approval around in 24 hours (financing resources here). Or reach The Phinney Team directly at teamphinney.com.

Related reading

If the listing is sitting, read how to negotiate under asking price on a New Hampshire home. If you're up against cash, see do cash offers beat financed offers in NH. And once you're under agreement, home inspection red flags in New Hampshire tells you what to look for in that first 10 days.

Frequently asked questions

Is an offer on a house legally binding in New Hampshire?

Your signed offer is not binding until the seller signs and acceptance is communicated to you. Once that happens the NHAR Purchase and Sales Agreement is a binding contract. You can still exit within your written contingencies — inspection, financing, appraisal — and keep your deposit, but walking away for any other reason puts your earnest money at risk.

How much should I offer over asking in NH?

It depends on the listing, not the market. In July 2026 Manchester sellers averaged 103.3% of original list price and Bedford sellers 101.6% (NHAR), so on a fresh, well-priced listing 2–5% over is common. On a home past two weeks with a price cut, offering at or under list with clean terms is usually right. Comparable sales, not the asking price, set your number.

Can I make an offer on a house in NH without a real estate agent?

Yes. There's no law requiring a buyer's agent, and the NHAR form is available through any licensee. But the listing agent represents the seller, and the contract's deadlines and contingency language are where unrepresented buyers most often lose money. Most buyers use an agent; the fee is negotiable and can be requested from the seller in the offer.

Do I need a lawyer to make an offer in New Hampshire?

No — the NHAR standard form is written so agents can prepare it, and most NH buyers do not involve an attorney at the offer stage. Many hire a closing attorney or use a title company later for the closing itself. For unusual terms (seller financing, estate sales, land with subdivision questions), an attorney review before you sign is money well spent.

What happens if the seller counters my offer?

A counter is a rejection of your original offer plus a new offer from the seller, usually marked on the same agreement. You can accept it, counter again, or let it expire. Nothing is binding until one side accepts the other's most recent terms without changes and that acceptance is delivered. Until then, either party can walk away with no penalty.