As you begin looking at homes for sale, it might be hard to narrow it down to the one you are certain you want to buy; however, eventually you will have to do this. When you do make this decision and are sure you found the house you want to buy, your next step will be making an offer on the house. Making an offer is something you will need to really think about, simply because you do not want to insult the seller by offering an amount that is too low, nor will you want to overpay be offering an amount that is too high. As you think about how much to offer, you may want to factor in the following three things. 

The number of days it has been listed

The number of days a home has been listed is an important piece of information to consider in this big decision. If a house was just put on the market, the seller might not be quite as motivated to sell as a person would be if the home has been listed for months. Because of this, your offer should be closer to the asking price for a home that was just listed, and your offer can be a lot lower than the asking price for a home that has been up for sale for a while.

If it is a buyer's market or seller's market

You may also want to talk to your agent about the current real estate market conditions to find out if it is currently a seller's market or a buyer's market, as this too can affect the amount you should offer on the house. During a buyer's market, you may have a slight edge over the sellers. This type of market means that there are more houses for sale than available buyers, and this drives the prices of homes down. A seller's market is a time when home prices are higher due to a shortage of homes for sale. You can offer a lower amount for a house if it is currently a buyer's market than you could during a seller's market.

What the comps reveal

Finally, it may be important to look at the comps of the house you are buying to see what they reveal. Your agent might be able to give you some comps, which refer to recent home sales of houses that are similar to the one you are buying. These can be used to compare prices, and they can help you discover how much the house you are buying is really worth at this time.

The offer you make on a house is an important step in the home-buying process, and your real estate agent can help you determine what a good offer amount is for the house you want to buy.