what do we offer a homeowner for a house that they have on market since feb. 05?

[hortus]

house is found in a beautiful setting but it has a very ackward design that needs to be reconfigurated. it's been on the market since feb 05. the price has been reduced from 1.7m to 1.1m but it is going to need about $200,000 to redo. the kitchen is 9x10 and the first room you walk into is a breakfast room.

[FKF]

What does your broker say? $1.7 was probably wishfull thinking. Try to find out how much they paid for it and when. At this point they may just want out and don't care if they break even. Also, I've always found that asking odd numbers worked - like you've done some secret calculations. I'd offer $865,500. You can always go up.

[Cysteine]

lowball them. I would start at 700,000 and guage their response. Typically such offers are unwanted. However current conditions are so askew, that any offer is probably welcomed by a real estate agent.
Currently, It is a buyers market with foreclosures, new homes, and credit crunches putting a strangle hold on existing home sales. It is expected to get even worse for sellers next year. If you want some background info, I pasted a recent link below from Money magazine on the subject.
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnnm/071106/110107_2008_outlook_housing.html?.v=1&.pf=oneclick