Is a verbal offer legally valid?

Questioner

I (we) have been house hunting for a while now. The house we are working on has been for sale for over a year. We have already made many phone calls back and forth with the sellers and the real estate agent (also had physical contact) for this house. The sellers are 2 older people. We sat down with the sellers to discuss the price. At that time, the sellers verbally agreed to an offer. But did not want to draw up a purchase contract (with conditions) due to a family situation. Some time later, we passed on the offer to the real estate agent. After which it was reported that the sellers did not agree (with the same verbal amount). What is now legally valid? Can the sellers withdraw if they have verbally agreed to an offer? (These older people often change their minds. One moment they say this, the next moment they say that.)

Lawyer

Ir/Madam, Normally, an oral agreement is just as legally valid as a written agreement. However, the law stipulates that the purchase of a home between private parties is entered into in writing. In this case, the oral agreement is unfortunately not legally valid. If you have any other questions and/or comments, please feel free to contact me. Yours sincerely, Shamina Balaydin