What happens to a buyer's original offer if it is $40,000 less than the seller's listed price and the seller responds with a counteroffer?

When a seller responds to a buyer's original offer with a counteroffer, the original offer is effectively terminated. This principle is grounded in the concept of contract law, where a counteroffer constitutes a new offer that changes the terms of the original one. Therefore, any acceptance of the original offer is no longer possible because the terms have changed.

In this scenario, since the buyer's original offer is significantly lower than the seller's listed price and the seller presents a counteroffer, the original offer cannot be accepted anymore. Instead, the seller is indicating a willingness to engage under different terms. The original offer becomes void as soon as the seller issues the counteroffer, meaning it can no longer be accepted by the buyer.

This is a fundamental aspect of negotiation in real estate and contract law, where each new counteroffer replaces previous offers and alters the negotiating landscape.