A counteroffer should address a specific issue in the proposal you received. My advice is to decide which terms need changing, which are acceptable and which require clarification before responding with another price alone.
For Riverside single-family homes, condos, townhomes and apartments, the September 2026 sold-to-list price percentage was 99.8%. The median sold price was $680,000. Housing supply, measured in months of inventory, was 2.65 months. Those townwide metrics do not establish the changes a particular buyer would accept in a counteroffer.
I would focus the response on your priorities instead of treating a townwide metric as a required outcome. Price, financing requirements and proposed dates need separate consideration because they ask you to accept different commitments. A counteroffer is more useful when you understand what each change accomplishes and what remains open for agreement.
Mark the received terms you can accept and identify the specific provisions you want clarified or changed. Review how a proposed price change relates to the other responsibilities and dates in the agreement. Discuss the complete response with me before deciding whether to counter, accept or decline the proposal.
