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Let’s take a look at how house comps can be useful for people from virtually all walks of life. When it comes to buying and selling homes, everything is relative. The answers all depend on a number of relative factors that vary based on location, time of year, real estate market trends and most importantly, real estate comps. Comps should be recent and of similar, nearby properties with as many features in common as possible. Homes should be the same style, similar age and comparable condition, with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms, equal square footage, and equivalent lot size.
You might not realize that the house next to a comp is a teardown or next to a really busy street or that the front landscaping is in bad shape. Ownerly, for instance, will produce a report with two different home valuations and various comp data for your address. In spring and early summer, and they take longer to sell in the winter.
Why Use MLS Comps?
This “how to find comps for my house” crash course will teach you how to find comparable sales and calculate a rough estimate of your home’s home’s value. Then you can decide if you’d like to go it alone or enlist a pro’s help. If a selling price you find online looks too good to be true, go to your county or municipality real property office .
Once you select your site of choice, you’ll need to narrow down your search. You want to find three to five homes that sold within the past six months in your area. Try our free Agent Match tool now to request a comparative market analysis on your home. We analyze over 27 million transactions and thousands of reviews to determine which agent is best for you based on your needs.
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Prior to Sundae, Josh was Founding Partner and SVP of Sales at LendingHome, and before that, he was Co-Founder and CFO of Purpose Built Investments. Josh graduated with honors from Stanford with a BA in Economics, BA in Spanish, and an MA in Latin American Studies with a focus in Economic Policy. At HomeLight, our vision is a world where every real estate transaction is simple, certain, and satisfying. Therefore, we promote stricteditorial integrity in each of our posts. What Not to Fix When Selling a House If you're selling your home, you don't have to fix everything.
A comp should be in the same school district, neighborhood and perhaps even the same side of the street. When you’re looking at your comps, make sure they factor inallthe nearby things—good and bad. Try to only focus on homes that have been sold within a 3 to 6 month period. This may be difficult if you have a market that changes rapidly.
Ask a real estate agent for a comparative market analysis
Most lenders require an appraisal to make sure the home is worth the purchase price, but some sellers also use an appraiser to accurately price their home. The old adage holds that the three most important things in real estate are location, location, location. But judging by the importance levied on house comps, comparable sales may be the most important thing in real estate pricing.
A CMA isn’t an appraisal but it can often accurately determine a home’s current estimated value. Searching for the name of the city or town along with the word “assessor” online should lead you to the assessor’s website. Generally, they have accurate data about the number of beds and baths because it’s used to calculate taxes due. On the top of the results page, you can filter by property type (house/condo/farm ranch/land), the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and other criteria. Some online sites allow you to search for recent sales in your area. There are several online tools that are helpful for locating housing comps in your area.
On a 2,000-square-foot home, that’s an offer price of $330,000. Acreage value varies by location but, all other factors being equal, more land means more value. Even if the houses are pretty comparable, if one sits on 2 acres and the other sits on 10 acres, you need to take that into account when determining the value of both properties. A large lot near a popular urban center could be countless times more valuable than a rural plot of land the exact same size. Whether you’re buying or selling, pulling comps is a critical step toward making sure you make the right financial decision.
As you may already know, understanding the prices of similar homes in the area will help you decide how to handle pricing yours. Another, perhaps less obvious, key benefit is that it can help provide clues on what selling points to highlight when you list your house for sale. IDX information is provided exclusively for personal, non-commercial use, and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. The listing broker’s offer of compensation is made only to participants of the MLS where the listing is filed. Understanding real estate comparables and the state of the market in your local area is essential. It can help you make an informed decision about buying or selling a property.
If you multiply $218 by the square footage of your home, for instance 2,100 square feet, your home’s value based on comparable PPSF might be around $457,800. With this calculation, you now have a ballpark estimate of what your home may be worth. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service.
To find comps for a house, you just need to do a little research and some quick math. Follow this guide to confidently estimate what your house is worth in today’s market. Another way to check comps is to use a reputable online home value estimator, also called an automated valuation model tool. These tools pull in market sales data, analyze and compare it to your property, and return a suggested list price. Your home’s comps will depend greatly on your area and real estate market, but by doing research, you can find out the sale prices of similar homes.
Don’t pull townhome comps if you live in a single-family. Help your clients sell as-is, for the best price, with an easy and seamless alternative to a traditional listing. Be careful when using online data to figure out your home’s worth. Appraisers research comps when they’re appraising a home for a mortgage lender.
The agent can access the multiple listing services to compile a report that analyzes six to 12 local comparable sales and establish a list price. A CMS will also look at current market trends, inventory levels, price per square foot, and days on market . A real estate comp is a home similar to the one you are trying to buy or sell and can be used to help determine the price or value of the property.
With a fair market value calculated for your home, thanks to local comps, the next step is listing it. Keep in mind that homes sold by owner are often on the market a little longer than average. Make sure you’ve listed your property so that it appears on all the MLS listing services and keep an eye on the reaction of your potential buyers. Not all Trulia listings have the “comparable sales” feature. For some properties, you might instead see the “off-market homes” image carousel with nearby homes and their sold dates and prices.
Realtors do not normally charge for showing someone the comps; however, just getting the comps isn't enough, you need to assess them. Just like real estate agents, appraisers usually check the MLS listings. They look for recent sales of homes similar in size, location, features, age, and amenities. But online tools may have their limitations, especially in areas where homes are further apart or where subtle differences in location can have a big effect on home value. Online sites also may not differentiate between homes in better or worse condition, cautions Albert.
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