I would expect at least 94% if the property is well priced and in reasonable condition. You might have bargaining power because the $1 million+ market in Evanston has been very slow.

Throw all your stats out the window, Find yourself a seasoned realtor who knows not to be afraid to test the market with you. You should have a a price in mind ,but the way you get there separates the professionals from rest of the realtors.. If your offer was accepted on your first bid than you bidded too high. Inventory is only growing and the market is notgetting any better. Sellers too advantage of the hot market for many years,why wouldn't buyers do the same now !!! Make sure you use a realtor with Property Tax Reduction experience is Evanston is being re-assessed this years so you should keep that in mind. I al also property tax reduction expert with working experience for the Cook County Assesor experience for many years.
Don't sell yourself short on a experienced Realtor with as many advanced Real Estatwe degree's as you can find.
Sincerely yours,
Don Yosef Marcus GRI,ABR,SRES,CCREC
Century 21 MB

I agree with Dino - the SP/LP ratio is an average measure, not the definitive answer for pricing. For example: Homes that sold in the last 6 months, in the price range $750M to $1.25M, sold at 95% of last list price. On average it took 100 days to sell. But some sold in 1 day others in 124 days. Some were priced to sell, others to maximize proceeds. These averages are only guides to valuation.

If a house is well priced, it's going to sell fast, close to list. How much you offer will depend on your analysis of the List Price. Do your due diligence, know how the market is trending and how well priced this home is versus its ACTIVE comparables. Then, make your offer.

Most agents are advising their Sellers to counter all realistic offers. Take yoru best shot.

DS

An 88% offer, in today's market, has a decent potential of being accepted. Especially on the upper end of the market ($1,000,000 + homes) which has been moving slowly.

I'm an Evanston agent and I can tell you that you really have to pull information that relates to the property you're looking at. What's the elementary school? How close to the lake? Transportation etc. Evanston has a great mix of neighborhoods and housing stock. You can use the recent sales and list-to-sale ratio as a guide but it really comes down to how flexible/motivated the seller is. The average is around 94% from the last list price but 90% from original list price. If the property seems really over-priced an 88% starting offer may be too much. You really need to assess every property individually.
I'm happy to help if you need more info...I'm a lifelong resident, I know the area very well and was #2 in # of transactions for Evanston agents last year...
Thanks!
Michael Thomas e-pro, CRS
Coldwell Banker
847-322-6968
Mike@MichaelThomasRealty.com

dear Home buyer
Don't use Zillow or any other statistics ,it will onlt confuse you more. Use a well seasoned Realtor/Broker that has real estate designations like a GRI,ABR,CRS to help guild you through this process. In todays times the stats don't mean too much. People are ignoring them for the most part and are treating normal sales like short sales . This market is very differicult to do a CMA and anyone who gives you a statisitic with certainity of that's what the property should sell for should have their head examined. EACH SITUATION YOU HAVE TO TREAT INDIVIDUALY.
There are several factors that you have to take into before formulating an offer.

Good Luck it can ever be a helping hand just call or e-mail me
Don Yosef Marcus GRI,ABR,CCREC,SRS
CENTURY 21 MB
Chicago & Northbrook
DonYo770@aol.com
22 yrs of experience and growing

Please don't use the list to sell ratio to determine what a home "should" sell for. Some listings are way overpriced while others are aggresively priced and will sell at or near list. Let the recently closed comps in your area be your guide. In this market, I would hope your offer would at least warrant a counter, though it might not be the kind of counter you were hoping for.