Hi Julie - I is goign to depend heavily on the particular house you are looking at. How long has it been on the market? How is it priced? What is the seller's motivation? Seller motivation is huge! Are you looking in Kirkland or Seattle?

Sylvia is right on, but you still don't have a clue. In my area the statistics can vary from 10% less to 2-3% more than asking price (I'm in the south close to a military base). If you are interested in getting the most house for your money go to HUD.gov and find a foreclosure. They have special programs and rates just waiting to be taken advantage of. But for regular sales, if you pay full price make sure they fix EVERYTHING or negotiate $$$ off the price for EVERYTHING you find wrong. And do not buy ANYTHING without having a home inspection. Meet with the home inspector and get a good understanding of any deficiancies and get quotes for the repairs from qualified professional contractors, plumbers, electricians, etc. You may be handy enough to do the repairs yourself, but you'll want the full amount that a contractor would charge deducted from the sales price. In most cases you can get the seller to pay most if not all the closing cost, and be sure to get a 2-10 Home Warranty from the seller. Learning the real estate market is hard work. If you can't dedicate a lot of time and effort into finding a home on your own, you'd be much better off to spend some time researching the realtors in your area and hire a proven real estate agent who can be worth their weight in gold. Sometimes they will negotiate a reduced commission, but be careful not to ask them to cut it too low or you may not get their best service.

Syliva is correct each home is treated different in submitting an offer. I woudl recommend for your buyers agent complete past research on property sales including speaking with listing agent determine best interest in submitting and offer. Keep in mind the sales price is only gross amount paid to seller does not include tax, closing cost, agent fees, repairs, and etc.
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There is no ready formula for that. It really depends on the supply and demand, how well the house is priced to start with, how motivated is the seller, how strong / weak the market is.

You have to make a decision on house by house basis, as they are all unique.

Sylvia