When a buyer signs a counteroffer, what happens to the initial offer they made?

When a buyer signs a counteroffer, the initial offer they made becomes void and is no longer effective. In real estate negotiations, a counteroffer represents a rejection of the original offer and a new proposal with different terms. By signing the counteroffer, the buyer indicates their acceptance of the new terms, effectively nullifying the original offer.

In the context of real estate transactions, once a counteroffer is made and accepted by the other party, the previous offer cannot be revived or accepted. This is due to the principle of the "mirror image rule," which states that an acceptance must exactly match the terms of the original offer. Since the counteroffer changes the terms, it creates a new contract proposal that replaces the initial one.