What Is an ‘Escalation Clause’ and How Should Sellers Respond to One?

In our competitive seller’s market where a listing might attract five, ten or more competing offers, submitted contracts often include something called an “escalation clause.”

An escalation clause is an additional provision worded something like this: “In the event Seller receives a competing contract with a purchase price, net of concessions, in excess of the Purchase Price in this Contract, Buyer agrees to increase the Purchase Price of this Contract to $1,000 in excess of the purchase price of said competing contract, up to a maximum of $______.” I have seen contracts offering as much as $5,000 over a competing contract.

Two things you need to know about this strategy. Most importantly, the seller is completely free to ignore the escalation clause and does not even have to accept the best offer. Secondly, when it’s you submitting the contract with an escalation clause, I recommend not inserting a maximum price. That makes it more likely you’ll receive a call from the seller’s agent telling you what that higher offer is.

Author: Golden Real Estate, Inc.

Golden Real Estate is a prominent member of the Denver/Jefferson County real estate scene. Based in Golden, we service both Denver and Jeffco, representing both buyers and sellers. We're well known for Broker Jim Smith's weekly "Real Estate Today" column published in the Denver and Jeffco editions of the Denver Post's YourHub section each Thursday. The column also appears in several weekly newspapers and is archived at www.JimSmithColumns.com. We have nine agents, all of whom are Realtors and EcoBrokers. Our office is Net Zero Energy since December 2017, and several of us drive electrics cars. Known for our sustainable practices, we accept polystyrene (aka "Styrofoam") for recycling, keeping 200 cubic yards per year out of area landfills. View all posts by Golden Real Estate, Inc.