NEW: Moving Day: January 2026 Industry Hires And Promotions

Conditional Offer

Understand what a conditional offer is in Canadian real estate, how it works, and what it means for buyers and sellers during a property transaction.

Conditional Offer

May 22, 2025


What is a Conditional Offer?

A conditional offer is an agreement to purchase a property that includes one or more conditions that must be met before the sale is finalized.

Why Conditional Offers Matter in Real Estate

Conditional offers are common in Canadian real estate and provide legal protection for both buyers and sellers. For buyers, these conditions create a safety net, allowing them to back out of the deal without penalty if specific requirements—like financing approval or a satisfactory home inspection—are not met.

Typical conditions include financing, home inspection, sale of the buyer’s current home, and review of condominium documents. Each condition includes a deadline by which it must be satisfied or waived. If the conditions are fulfilled, the offer becomes a firm contract; if not, the buyer may choose to walk away.

From the seller’s perspective, accepting a conditional offer may slow the transaction but can still lead to a secure and successful sale. Sellers may prefer firm offers in competitive markets but will often consider conditional ones if other aspects of the offer are favourable.

Understanding conditional offers is vital for structuring offers wisely, protecting against risk, and negotiating favourable terms during a home purchase.

Example of a Conditional Offer in Action

A buyer submits an offer on a home in Calgary for $620,000, conditional on securing mortgage financing and completing a home inspection within 10 days. Both conditions are satisfied, and the sale proceeds to closing.

Key Takeaways

  • Includes buyer-protective clauses that must be met for the sale to proceed.
  • Common conditions include financing and home inspection.
  • Offers flexibility and legal protection during the buying process.
  • Must include timelines for fulfilling or waiving conditions.
  • Becomes a binding contract once conditions are satisfied.

Related Terms

Additional Terms

Public Realm Improvements

Public realm improvements are enhancements to public spaces such as sidewalks, parks, plazas, and streetscapes, often funded or contributed by. more

Mortgagee in Possession

A mortgagee in possession is a lender who takes control of a property after borrower default, but before foreclosure or power of sale. The lender. more

Lease Surrender Agreement

A lease surrender agreement is a negotiated contract between a landlord and tenant that ends a lease before its scheduled expiration. Terms may. more

Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure refers to natural or engineered systems that manage stormwater, reduce heat, and improve sustainability in developments.. more

Escrow Holdback

An escrow holdback is a portion of funds withheld at closing and held in escrow until specific conditions are met, such as completion of repairs,. more

Underused Housing Tax

The Underused Housing Tax (UHT) is a federal annual 1% tax on the value of vacant or underused residential property owned by non-resident,. more

More For You

CIBC SQUARE’s Second Bay-And-Front Tower Reaches Full Lease-Up

CIBC SQUARE’s Second Bay-And-Front Tower Reaches Full Lease-Up

CIBC SQUARE

The second and final tower at Toronto’s CIBC SQUARE has officially reached full lease-up, marking a major milestone for one of the city’s most prominent office developments — and further signalling a bloom in the commercial real estate sphere.

La Caisse and Hines, alongside long-standing investment partner the National Pension Service of Korea (NPS), announced that 141 Bay Street, the 50-storey tower completing the two-building campus, is now fully leased.

Keep ReadingShow less

Peterson Ups Burnaby Blake Village Project To 5,250 Units As Site Prep Begins

Peterson Ups Burnaby Blake Village Project To 5,250 Units As Site Prep Begins

A rendering of the public space planned for Blake Village. (Peterson)

After a few starts, stops, and a complex legal proceeding, Peterson is turning the page and starting a new chapter at its Burnaby Lake Village master-planned community, beginning with the name: the project has been rebranded as Blake Village.

The project is set for the 19-acre site at 6800 Lougheed Highway, directly adjacent to the Millennium Line SkyTrain’s Sperling-Burnaby Lake Station. The property was formerly home to an industrial facility occupied by Saputo before it was sold to Peterson and Create Properties in 2018 for $209 million.

Keep ReadingShow less

Rental Proving An Anchor In Canadian Real Estate For 2026

Rental Proving An Anchor In Canadian Real Estate For 2026

TELUS Living Nanaimo (Omicron)

Canada’s rental housing market may not always grab snappy headlines, but it’s quietly proving its staying power.

Across the country, large-scale organizations are putting capital into purpose-built rental housing, whether through acquisitions, repurposed properties, or REIT activity. The trend is less about flashy growth and more about steady, strategic investment — a trend that’s already shaping 2026.

Keep ReadingShow less

Home Relocation Project Brings 17 Affordable Rentals To Sunshine Coast's shíshálh Nation

Home Relocation Project Brings 17 Affordable Rentals To Sunshine Coast's shíshálh Nation

Renewal Development

Via Renewal Development and Wesgroup, 17 affordable rental homes are now in the hands of the shíshálh Nation — marking the completion of a project that addresses the community’s housing needs while creating local opportunities.

Like many communities across British Columbia, the shíshálh Nation has been facing a housing crisis. This project tackles that issue head-on while supporting local economic development: roughly 70% of its construction work was carried out by shíshálh Nation entrepreneurs, providing jobs and skills training within the community.

Keep ReadingShow less

Build Canada Homes Pulls From Public, Private Sectors For Exec Team

Build Canada Homes Pulls From Public, Private Sectors For Exec Team

Valesa Faria (left) and Jeffery Coles (right) have joined the Build Canada Homes executive leadership team.

The economy may be acclimating to tariffs and interest rate pain has eased (for now), but Canadian housing remains sorely in crisis. Against that backdrop, Build Canada Homes (BCH) has its work cut out for it, and the agency is forging ahead with the appointments of Valesa Faria and Jeffery Coles to its executive leadership team.

While Faria will be stepping into the Senior Vice President of Partnership and Development role later this month, Coles assumed the Senior Vice President of Investments post in January.

Keep ReadingShow less

Hudson's Bay Left Behind 15 Million Sq. Ft Of Space. What Happens To It Now?

Hudson's Bay Left Behind 15 Million Sq. Ft Of Space. What Happens To It Now?

The closed Hudson’s Bay store in the Metrpolis at Metrotown shopping centre in Burnaby, BC. (Howard Chai)

We’re closing in on almost a year since the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) filed for creditor protection. Liquidating the company’s assets and closing all of its stores was the easy part — and has mostly been completed already. The hard part is determining what to do with the huge blocks of vacant space left in the company’s wake.

Across Canada, HBC operated a total of 96 stores, including not just the traditional Hudson’s Bay stores, but also a handful of stores under the Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks OFF 5TH brands.

Keep ReadingShow less

GTA Home Sales, Prices Expected To Hold Steady In 2026: TRREB

GTA Home Sales, Prices Expected To Hold Steady In 2026: TRREB

Shutterstock

After years of volatility, the GTA housing market is entering a holding pattern.

That’s the takeaway from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s 2026 Market Outlook and Year in Review, which forecasts relatively stable home sales and prices this year, as improved buyer choice and affordability continue to be weighed down by cautious consumer sentiment.

Keep ReadingShow less

10 Major Metro Vancouver Developments Set To Complete In 2026

10 Major Metro Vancouver Developments Set To Complete In 2026

A rendering of Phase One of Sen̓áḵw, set to complete this year. (OPTrust, Nch’ḵay̓)

This is a very significant moment in time for the real estate industry. New construction has slowed to a crawl due to a confluence of factors, including economic conditions, elevated construction costs, tariffs, and buyer sentiment.

It's typical for developers to have projects at various stages, however, at present, many development projects are still lingering under construction — namely, the last wave that reached the construction phase before the market downturn.

Keep ReadingShow less
Privacy PolicyAbout UsTerms of UseAdvertise with UsJobsContact UsRSS Feed
All rights reserved SiteMedia © 2026.