Getting a fair price for a home that you are ready to make an offer on can be quite tricky. Even if it's a buyer's market, you should know how much you should offer for a property so that you don't feel like you're not being cheated and, at the same time, you won't feel like you're making an unfair offer to the disadvantage of the owner of the property. Here are a few tips to help you arrive at a fair offer and to determine if the negotiations for the house is going a fair direction.

1. Research recently sold properties in the area. - Find properties that are similar or comparable to the property you want to buy and check how much they sold for. For example, if you are looking into buying a 1,200 square meter piece of Carlsbad real estate, then looking through former Carlsbad homes for sale that have been sold these past few weeks can give you an insight on how much you can expect to pay for the property you want to buy. Of course you'll need to take a lot of other things into consideration, like the number of rooms in the property, whether there are structures outside the house, the style and age of the house and more. Finding a comparable house can require some effort on your part, but the insight this will give you on property pricing is invaluable.

2. Research properties in the area which are waiting to be sold. - Aside from finding properties that have been sold in the area, finding comparable properties that couldn't be sold or are still waiting to be sold can tell you a whole different story. You can know more about how the market is doing just by getting this information, and you can learn more about the current temperament of sellers, and whether they will be willing to lower their prices if the general situation of their real estate market is such that houses are sitting too long, waiting to be sold.

3. Is the property an FSBO property? - Properties listed as FSBO or For Sale By Owner are generally lower in price because the average 6% real estate agent's commission is not factored in anymore. Some people prefer this arrangement because it's generally cheaper but it's also true that real estate agents to help steer you into the right direction as far as the home buying process is concerned. For first time buyers, this could translate to a lot of time saved because you won't need to guess the next steps you should do.

4. Are you comfortable with the price? - Even if your research tells you that you're paying the right price for the property, you still won't be able to say that you're paying a fair price if you are not happy with the property. Your personal opinion will still count for much, even if it's not what other people may call an expert opinion. After all, you're the one who will have to deal with the mortgage in the years to come.