How does an offer become a binding contract in real estate?

An offer becomes a binding contract when the other party accepts it without changes and communicates that acceptance to the offeror. This is called mutual consent or meeting of the minds. The acceptance must mirror the offer exactly. If the responding party changes any term, even minor ones, this constitutes a counteroffer which rejects the original offer and creates a new offer that the original offeror can accept or reject. The original offer can be revoked at any time before acceptance is communicated.