Chris....hi! The first thing that I wondered when I read your question was....what does your Realtor think you should offer? He/She would be the trained professional that you really should be asking. The should have done a market on comp homes and have the current market savvy to help you formulate a price and a plan.

There are just too many questions left unanswered here. Without me pulling a market on St. Cloud, I'd be doing you an injustice by answering your question. Let's look at it this way.....if the market has an average days on market of 180 days, then your offer needs to reflect that. But, on the other hand, if the average market time is 30 days, then it's a whole other ballgame. Also, how does this home compare to it's comps? Chris, it's just too tough to answer without really seeing the home and some comps.

Do the best thing, get a seasoned pro involved, get a realtor.

I hope this helps.....

Todd Norsted

What property are you looking at? There are so many variables that can change what a owner might be willing to take in the St Cloud area. How motivated are they? Is it one of the 300+ foreclosed properties on the St Cloud MLS? If you'd like, send the property address to jason@stcloudedina.com and I will run some numbers and a history against the home to see what it should be worth. Ultimately, that is what you are looking to find out. It could be that the seller is $30,000 over priced and a low offer is justified. I can probably get you some numbers within a few hours (schedule permitting).

Things that make a difference:

Has it had price reductions? If so, how recent and how much was the reduction? What was it originally listed at?

What's the value of it's comparables that have sold recently?

How bad do you want this house? How bad do the seller's need to sell?

In this market sellers are more willing than ever to negotiate with buyers but they are not going to let you steal equity from them. In my experience, buyers can hurt themselves by offering too low... so low that it is unrealistic. My recommendation to buyers is that they evaluate the comparables for sale to pick their favorite home, evaluate the comparables that have sold for that home to find what others have been willing to pay recently, and then try to negotiate to a point that is an extra $5000 off of that.

Hi Chris,

I can't speak to the St. Cloud market specifically. I can tell you that in Chicago, for example, 90 days is no longer "a lot" -- 4-6 months is the average (and I stress average. Of course there are exceptions).

Even then, not everybody is willing to take deep discounts. Every situation is different and every seller has a different motivation for selling, which will impact what they are willing to accept.

Without specific information, it is too difficult to tell you what you should offer. Who knows if the home is overpriced, underpriced, priced just right, being sold in distress, being sold by owners who "don't have to sell"... the list goes on and on.

Take a look at the most recently (and I mean: recently) sold comps -- as in 2-3 months -- and see what similar homes have sold for. Study the ratios of list vs. ask to get an idea of what people are accepting. Weigh that against what you are willing to pay - and why.

An informed consumer will mean a smart offer. You can try throwing darts in the dark and praying for a deep discount, but in my opinion, an educated offer is much more likely to land you the house if you really want it.

Good luck.