Tnup,

Your question is excellent and for a buyer, determining the answer can be a real head scratcher. Fro the buyer's perspective, you do not want to come in too high and not give yourself the opportunity to save a few thousand dollars. On the other hand if you come in too low you may loose the offer to a more realistic home buyer willing to bid higher.

There is one main way to determine you starting bid and here it is in a nutshell:

Comparable Sales (Comps) + Personal Value = Your Fair Sale Price

Comparable sales will let you know what other homes have sold for. Personal Value is only quantifiable by you.

This is such an important question that you ask that I wrote a blog about it. I want to share it with you and other readers who may find themselves reading this. The link is attached below. I hope you read it.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/935158/how-do-you-determine-…

I hope your offer gets accepted !!

Good morning!

The best way would be to consult your real estate professional. The professional will find some comparable properties that sold in the area recently. The agent will then add or subtract values for any amenties. Items such as a swimming pool, additional garages or lack of, size of lot, number of bedrooms, finished or unfinished basement, air conditioning, condition of home, etc. will be taken into consideration.

Once the real estate professional gives you an approximate market value of the property, you then have a base figure to work with in order to make your decision on an offer.

I hope this helps.

Brigita McKelvie, REALTOR, e-PRO, GRI
Keller Williams Real Estate, Bethlehem, PA
Office: 610-867-8888 Direct: 610-393-9424
E-mail: brigita@brigitamklv.com
Web: http://www.RuralAndHorseProperties.com
Blog: http://activerain.com/blogs/brigitam

Tnup,
It all depends how many potential buyers are putting offers on the property. The buyer frenzy drives up the price of the listed home. And, where you are comfortable of offering.
Ask your Realtor® for recent comps of the area.

Good luck,

Jes Sierra, B.Sc., Realtor® http://www.hellomynameisjes.com