How do I know what to offer on a home for sale?

The seller’s list price is always negotiable. A smart and serious seller, working with a good local agent should price their home in line with similar comparable homes nearby. Sometimes a seller will overprice a home, in which case you will want to negotiate them down. Other times they will price it low, resulting in multiple offers and maybe even overbidding. The seller can list their home at whatever price they want. There aren’t any rules or laws requiring them to list, price or market it in any specific way. The best advice is to look at the last 6 months of similar homes in the location and compare their sale prices. A good local real estate agent should be able to provide helpful insight on the market.