Should a Minnesota seller accept an offer that depends on the buyer selling their home first?
Accept a sale-contingent offer in Minnesota when the buyer’s home is priced to sell, your contract lets you keep marketing yours, and the premium over a clean offer covers at least three months of your carrying costs. The Minnesota Realtors Sale of Buyer’s Property addendum sets the buyer’s listing and sale deadlines, and the August 1, 2026 version starts the listing clock at final acceptance instead of offer submission. The National Association of REALTORS®, as cited by Chase, puts contingent-offer fall-through at roughly 4% to 7%, so the risk sits in the buyer’s price and timeline. With Twin Cities metro inventory up 14.7% year over year in September 2026, contingent offers deserve a real look.
By Darin Bjerknes | October 28, 2026
Picture a $925,000 listing in Lake Elmo, eleven days on the market. An offer comes in at $925,000, full price, from a buyer in Maplewood who has to sell first. The sellers call me that night. Do they take full price on a deal that depends on a stranger’s house, or wait for a clean offer that may not come? (This scenario is illustrative, not a specific client.)
I hear some version of this call from Woodbury, Lake Elmo, Afton, and Stillwater sellers whenever inventory builds, and it is building. Minnesota Realtors’ September 2026 report counted 10,279 active homes across the seven-county Twin Cities metro, up 14.7% from a year earlier. Pending sales fell 11.2%, days on market rose from 34 to 37, and sellers received 97.8% of original list price, down from 98.6%. Freddie Mac’s 30-year rate was 7.32% the week of October 22, down from 7.40%.
Buyers who own a house feel those numbers too. Many can’t carry two mortgages at 7%, so they ask you to wait for their sale. Whether you say yes depends on three things: how Minnesota’s contract handles the contingency, how strong the buyer’s own sale looks, and what the premium is worth to you.
What a sale contingency does in Minnesota
Two versions of the same protection
The Minnesota Realtors Purchase Agreement gives the buyer three options on whether they have property to sell. If the buyer checks the contingent option without attaching the separate addendum, you don’t receive a copy of their purchase agreement. The deal simply depends on their property closing, and if it doesn’t close by your closing date, the buyer is excused and the agreement is canceled. The Sale of Buyer’s Property addendum adds deadlines and detail.
Ask which one is in the offer. They protect you differently. Also check what else sits inside the buyer’s own contract. An inspection or financing contingency there can excuse the buyer from your deal if their sale doesn’t close on time.
What changed on August 1, 2026
Minnesota Realtors revised the Sale of Buyer’s Property addendum effective August 1, 2026. The change is small and it matters: the deadline to list the buyer’s property now runs from final acceptance of the contract, not from the date the offer was submitted. If the negotiation takes three days, the listing deadline now starts three days later than a count from the offer date would. The clock starts when both of you sign the final version.
My rule for sellers: ask the buyer to have the listing agreement signed before you accept, not after. A buyer who can’t commit to a listing date and a price today will not commit to one next week.
One related update: the SSTS & Well Water Inspection Contingency addendum now says “private well water” instead of “private well.” If the buyer’s own home in Afton, Lake Elmo, or rural Washington County runs on a well and septic system, that is a second inspection step that can slow their sale.
A missed date does not cancel the contract
This one surprises sellers. According to Minnesota Realtors’ legal hotline, missing the closing date is a default, but it does not automatically cancel the Purchase Agreement. The agreement stays in effect unless it is canceled, or unless the missed date ties to another contingency such as financing. Cancellation takes one of three routes: mutual written agreement, a statutory cancellation under Minn. Stat. 559.217, or a court order.
In practice, that means your contract needs a hard backstop date, and if the buyer’s sale slips you want a signed cancellation in hand, not a handshake. Your title company or a Minnesota real estate attorney can walk you through the statutory route if the buyer won’t sign.
Keeping your house on the market
Under the addendum structure Minnesota agents have used for years, you can keep marketing the home after you accept. If a stronger offer arrives, you send the contingent buyer a request to remove the contingency, and they get the period stated in the addendum. Older Minnesota agent guidance put that window at 48 to 72 hours. Redfin and Chase both describe 24 to 72 hours as typical for kick-out clauses nationally. Read the number in your signed form, not in a blog post, including this one.
To remove the contingency, older guidance says the buyer delivers a fully signed purchase agreement on their home that is contingent only on financing, with a closing date no later than yours. Confirm that against the current addendum before you rely on it.
How to size up the buyer’s sale before you say yes
A contingent offer is only as good as the other house. When the buyer’s home is in Maplewood, Oakdale, or White Bear Lake, I can usually pull comparable sales for it the same day, and that answer shapes everything else. These are the questions I ask before a client signs:
- Is the buyer’s home listed, and at what price? Have your agent pull the address and compare it to recent closed sales. A home priced well above comparable sales is the usual reason a contingent deal stalls.
- How long has it been on the market? A home with 40 days and no offers is a different risk than one that listed yesterday.
- Is it already under contract? If so, what contingencies does that buyer’s contract carry? Inspection and appraisal issues in their sale become your problem.
- Do the closing dates line up? Their closing should land on or before yours, with a few days of cushion.
- What does the lender letter say? Ask whether the approval counts the sale proceeds and whether the buyer qualifies if the sale slips. On loans above the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750, read my jumbo versus conforming breakdown and ask the lender about reserves.
- How long is the contingency window? Redfin reports most contingency periods run 30 to 60 days and says a 30-day window makes an offer more attractive. At 7%, I would push toward the short end.
The math: contingent premium versus clean offer
Run your own numbers, but here is how I frame it. Say you have two offers on a $925,000 listing: $925,000 contingent on a 60-day sale of the buyer’s home, or $905,000 clean with a 45-day close. The premium for waiting is $20,000. State deed tax at $1.65 per $500 runs about $3,053 on the higher price and $2,987 on the lower, so it barely moves the comparison. Carrying cost and risk do.
Your carrying cost is the other side of the equation. Add mortgage, property tax, insurance, utilities, and lawn or snow service. Call it $6,000 a month for this example. If the contingency fails at day 60 and you relist, you have spent roughly two extra months, about $12,000, plus whatever the market does in that window. The $20,000 premium covers more than three months of that carry.
National data helps with the odds. The National Association of REALTORS®, as cited by Chase, puts contingent-offer fall-through at roughly 4% to 7%, with more than 90% closing. At those rates, the expected cost of a two-month failure on this example is about $480 to $840. That is a national average for contingent offers generally. The risk that matters is the specific buyer’s house, which is why the checklist above carries more weight than the statistic.
Price is not the only lever. Ask for a shorter listing deadline, a list price anchored to comparable sales, a first-showing date within the first week, and a hard cancellation date. Then check what you net under each offer using your settlement statement walkthrough, because a credit or a different closing date changes the number.
When I say yes, and when I say wait
I lean toward accepting when the buyer’s home is priced at or below recent comparable sales, listed within a few days, and the premium covers at least three months of your carrying costs. I lean toward waiting when the buyer won’t commit to a listing price, their home has sat for more than a month, or the offer sits at or below a clean alternative.
If you have no clean offers at all, the problem may be your price, not the contingency. In that case, read House Not Selling in Woodbury, MN? Cut, Relist, or Pull It. If you are the one who needs to sell and buy, the buyer’s side of this trade-off is in How to Buy Your Next Home Before Selling in the Twin Cities. Closing mechanics sit in What Happens at a Minnesota Title Company Closing.
Your best answer depends on the buyer’s house, your carrying costs, and your timeline. That is the work I do with sellers before we respond to an offer, not after.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep showing my Minnesota home after accepting a sale-contingent offer?
Usually yes. Under the Sale of Buyer’s Property addendum structure Minnesota agents use, the seller can keep marketing the home and, if a stronger offer arrives, send the contingent buyer a request to remove the contingency. The buyer then has the period stated in the addendum. Read the number in your signed form, because older guidance cited 48 to 72 hours and national sources cite 24 to 72 hours.
How long does a buyer have to list their home under the Minnesota addendum?
The addendum sets the deadline, and the August 1, 2026 revision clarifies that it runs from final acceptance of the contract, not from the date the offer was submitted. Redfin reports most contingency periods run 30 to 60 days. Ask the buyer to sign a listing agreement before you accept.
Does missing the closing date cancel a Minnesota purchase agreement?
Not automatically. Minnesota Realtors’ legal hotline says a missed closing date is a default, but the agreement stays in effect unless it is canceled, or unless the date ties to another contingency such as financing. Cancellation takes mutual written agreement, a statutory cancellation under Minn. Stat. 559.217, or a court order.
How often do sale-contingent offers fall through?
The National Association of REALTORS®, as cited by Chase, puts it at roughly 4% to 7%, with more than 90% of offers closing. That is a national average for contingent offers generally. The risk on your deal depends on the price, condition, and timeline of the buyer’s specific home.
What happens to the earnest money if the buyer’s home does not sell?
Under the addendum, the purchase agreement is canceled and the earnest money is returned to the buyer if their home does not sell by the stated date, according to Minnesota agent guidance. Confirm the exact language in your signed addendum, and get a signed cancellation from both parties so the title company can release the funds.
How to decide whether to accept a sale-contingent offer in Minnesota: 5 Steps
- Get the buyer’s listing facts. Ask for the address, list price, listing date, and listing agent for the buyer’s home. Have your agent compare the price to recent closed sales and check days on market.
- Read which contingency is in the offer. Find out whether the buyer checked the contingent option in the Purchase Agreement or attached the Sale of Buyer’s Property addendum. Note the listing deadline (now counted from final acceptance), the sale deadline, and the removal period.
- Compare the net against a clean offer. Subtract the clean offer from the contingent premium, then compare it to your monthly carrying cost. A premium that covers at least three months of carry is a reasonable floor.
- Set the guardrails. Ask for a signed listing agreement before acceptance, a list price tied to comparable sales, a first-showing date within a week, a closing date on or before yours, and a hard cancellation date.
- Keep marketing and set a checkpoint. Keep your home active, confirm the buyer’s listing is live, and review showings and offers on their home every week so you can send a removal request or sign a cancellation if it stalls.
Thinking about selling in Woodbury or the east metro and weighing a sale-contingent offer? Book a free offer review and we’ll look at the buyer’s home, your carrying costs, and your net under each option. Reach out at [email protected] or book a call at https://calendly.com/darintheminnesotan.
About Darin Bjerknes
Darin Bjerknes is a licensed REALTOR with Minnesōtan, Brokered by REAL, serving the Twin Cities east metro for over 20 years. He specializes in move-up buyers and the luxury segment across Woodbury, Afton, Stillwater, Cottage Grove, Lake Elmo, and surrounding Washington, Ramsey, and Dakota County communities. Connect with Darin at darinbjerknes.com or call 612-702-5126.
Darin Bjerknes | Minnesōtan, Brokered by REAL | [email protected]
