On a $350,000 house
- Hot market
- $355k–$367k
- Balanced
- $339k–$357k
- Cooling
- $322k–$340k
Typical earnest money: $3,500–$10,500 (1–3% of price; higher in hot markets to signal commitment).
2026 buyer's guide · Updated for current market
How much should you offer on a house?
Forget generic "5% under asking" rules. This guide walks through the reasonable offer chart, comp-driven ranges by list price, and the exact tactics that win in hot, balanced, and cooling markets — then hands you a calculator that does the math for your specific listing.
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Short answer
How much should you offer on a house?
Anchor on comparable sales from the last 90–180 days, then adjust for current days on market and competition. In a balanced market, expect to offer within ±2% of list price. In a hot market, plan on 1–5% over list with strong terms. In a cooling market with a home that has sat 46+ days, 3–7% under list is reasonable. The exact number always comes from your specific comps — never a flat percentage rule.
What actually decides your offer
The 5 numbers that decide your offer
Most "how much should I offer" advice ignores all but one of these. OfferEdge weighs all five.
Driver 01
Recent comparable sales
Sales in the last 90–180 days, weighted by recency, proximity, and similarity. The single biggest input — and where rules of thumb fall apart.
Driver 02
Days on market
A home listed for 7 days behaves differently than one listed for 60. DOM tells you how much pricing power the seller actually has.
Driver 03
Competition pressure
Multiple offers, agent network signals, and recent sale-to-list ratios in the area determine how aggressive you need to be.
Driver 04
Your financing strength
Cash, conventional with appraisal gap, or FHA — your terms can be worth thousands without changing the price.
Driver 05
Risk tolerance
How willing are you to lose this house vs. overpay? OfferEdge surfaces three priced tiers so the trade-off is explicit.
Offer ranges by market type
What a "reasonable" offer looks like by market
A starting frame — the actual number always comes from the comps for your specific property.
Hot market
+1% to +5% over list
Multiple offers, <14 days on market, sale-to-list ratio above 100%. Win on terms first, price second.
Balanced market
List price ± 2%
21–45 days on market, sale-to-list near 98–100%. Comps drive the price; terms break ties.
Cooling market
−3% to −7% under list
60+ days on market, price reductions, sale-to-list below 97%. You have leverage — use it.
Reasonable offer chart
Reasonable offer chart by days on market
Use this as a starting frame, then anchor on weighted comps for the specific listing. Percentages are of list price.
| Days on market | Hot market | Balanced market | Cooling market |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–7 days | 100–105% of list | 98–100% | 96–99% |
| 8–21 days | 99–103% | 97–100% | 94–98% |
| 22–45 days | 97–100% | 95–98% | 92–96% |
| 46+ days | 95–98% | 92–96% | 88–94% |
Hot = multiple offers and sale-to-list ratio >100%. Balanced = sale-to-list 98–100%. Cooling = price cuts present, sale-to-list <97%.
Worked examples
How much to offer by list price
Comp-driven ranges and earnest-money guidance for the three list prices buyers ask about most.
On a $400,000 house
- Hot market
- $406k–$420k
- Balanced
- $388k–$408k
- Cooling
- $368k–$388k
Typical earnest money: $4,000–$12,000 (1–3% of price; higher in hot markets to signal commitment).
On a $500,000 house
- Hot market
- $508k–$525k
- Balanced
- $485k–$510k
- Cooling
- $460k–$485k
Typical earnest money: $5,000–$15,000 (1–3% of price; higher in hot markets to signal commitment).
Below or over asking?
When to go below — and when to go over — asking price
Going below asking
Reasonable when the home has 21+ days on market, comparable sales have closed below list, or the seller has cut price at least once. Lead with the comps in writing — sellers respect a number they can trace.
- 21+ days on market
- At least one price cut
- Closest comps came in under list
Going over asking
Only worth it when comps cleared above list, the home is fewer than 14 days on market, and there's real evidence of multiple offers. Otherwise you're bidding against yourself.
- Comps closed above list
- <14 days on market
- Documented multiple offers
Tactical scenarios
Negotiating in 2026: scenarios buyers actually face
Most listings fall into one of these three buckets. Match your approach to the situation.
Multiple-offer situations
Lead with terms, not just price. A larger appraisal-gap commitment, a shorter inspection period, and a flexible close date beat a higher dollar amount with weaker contingencies more often than buyers expect.
Homes that need work
Estimate repair costs, then deduct 1.2–1.5× that figure from comp-based market value. Major systems justify larger discounts than cosmetics. Order inspections quickly so the seller doesn't see your deduction as a renegotiation.
Counter-offers
Counter once with your strongest case — repeat back the seller's logic, then anchor on the two or three closest comps. A second counter usually signals weakness; if the comps don't move, the price shouldn't either.
Under the hood
How OfferEdge calculates the recommended offer
OfferEdge runs a deterministic valuation engine — not a guess from a chat model. It pulls comparable sales from the last 180 days, weights each comp by recency, proximity, and similarity, and produces a market-adjusted price band.
That band is then layered with current market signals (days on market, sale-to-list ratio, competition pressure) and your financing profile to output three priced strategies: Conservative, Market, and Aggressive. Each comes with a Pricing Certainty score so you know how much the comps actually agree.
Keep reading
Related guides
What is a comparative market analysis (CMA)?
The data behind every defensible offer — how agents price homes using comps.
How to get a CMA
Three ways to pull a comparative market analysis — from an agent, DIY, or automated.
OfferEdge features
The full feature tour: reasonable offer chart, win probability, branded PDFs.
Common questions
Below asking, over asking, and other things buyers ask
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