How to Find Real Estate Comps Near You

Comparable properties are one of the best indicators within the real estate market. A buyer, seller, or investor who wants to estimate a property’s value can look at real estate comps to learn about the local market. Whether you hire a real estate agent or represent yourself, you can find comps to guide your actions and make you more informed. 

This guide will cover how to find real estate comps and why they matter. It will review online tools and the benefits of working with a professional to pull accurate results. Here’s everything you need to know about finding real estate comps and how to use them.

What Are Real Estate Comps and Why Do They Matter?

Real estate comps are recently sold homes that have similar features to the ones you are interested in. Accurate real estate comps match your target properties in multiple ways, with minimal varying characteristics. 

The comparable properties you use must be similar to the home you are trying to price because they will guide you in estimating the value and/or sale price of the house.  Real estate agents use comps to develop a comparative market analysis whenever they meet with a new client. If the data isn’t accurate, then they could make incorrect recommendations to clients that could cost them a significant amount of time and money.  

For example, if a Realtor is overly conservating with their real estate comps, they might recommend a lower listing price than a seller could have received for the property. If they are overly optimistic, they could overprice the house, causing it to stay on the market for longer than the seller wants until its value is properly adjusted. 

Housing comps are valuable to both buyers and sellers. Sellers want accurate ideas of what their properties could sell for and buyers want a clear idea of the housing market. Buyers need to know what is considered a reasonable price range for the homes they want. Knowledge is power when it comes to real estate, and that starts with your comps.

How to Find Real Estate Comps Near You

You don’t have to be an expert in the local real estate market to pull comps. There are several ways to glean information about recent home sales and apply it to your market reports. Follow these five steps to identify the market value of properties in your area.

1. Use Online Real Estate Tools

You can use some of the most popular online tools to help you find real estate comps. Zillow, Realtor.com, and Refin all provide recently sold property data. This is incredibly invaluable if you don’t have access to the multiple listing service but still want to see what properties are selling for. There are a few ways to get the most out of your online research if you want to learn the fair market price for your home – or one you are interested in. 

• Use your filters: filter listings by location, size, and features to identify similar homes. Don’t waste your time looking at houses that aren’t similar to yours or those you want to buy. 
• Prioritize recent sales: only look at off-market homes that sold within the last three to six months. These will give you the most accurate comparisons.
• Compare listing and sales prices: while sale prices offer the most accurate reports on what homes are selling for, it’s worth looking at what sellers list them for originally. See how much buyers negotiate on average, what the difference between the listing and sale price is, and how long homes stay on the market on average. 

You may decide to keep a spreadsheet of comparable properties with this information. You can then add new comps and remove less relevant ones (those with older sale dates or different features) as your dataset grows.

2. Work with a Real Estate Agent

One of the best ways to ensure you get reliable real estate comps is to work with a professional who pulls them for a living. An experienced Realtor can help you set your listing price or guide you to learn about the fair market value of homes you are interested in. They look at home values all day and can sort data based on specific neighborhoods and features. 

Your Realtor will also have access to the multiple listing service which has more data about specific home sales. If you are curious why a home sold for the price it did, you can ask your agent to dig into the MLS. They might be able to offer insights you couldn’t get from your own research. 

The MLS also regularly updates with new information, so your agent might have information on recently sold homes before you do. This means they can pull better reports faster. 

You don’t have to be a real estate expert when you hire someone to stand by your side. Work with a professional who has followed market trends for years and understands what local homes are worth.

3. Check County and Public Records

Another great place to find comparable sales is the public records office. Depending on how your local government is structured, check the local tax assessor, county public records, or the county clerk to read the files on recently sold properties. These sources are free but they may require extra effort to access specific data. They aren’t made for casual browsing like sites like Zillow are. 

This option is ideal if you have a specific subject property in mind to search or want to look around a specific area. For example, if you are interested in a condo unit in a specific complex, you can use property tax records to understand what individual units are worth.  

Know that government data might not provide in-depth information about real estate comparables. You might not learn how the rates changed from the initial listing price to the final sale.

4. Explore the Neighborhood

Online data is incredibly valuable for finding real estate comps, but you might want to visit specific neighborhoods or tour houses in person to learn why they are listed at specific prices. There might be unmentioned features that either increase or decrease the listing price of a home. Here are a few ways you can learn about houses beyond reviewing their online data: 

• Attend open houses: many states allow people to attend open houses without Realtor representation. Sellers can attend open houses to learn about comparable properties in their neighborhoods while buyers can tour homes to learn about houses before they contact their Realtor. 
• Drive to different neighborhoods: market values can change from one neighborhood to the next. Visit specific neighborhoods to see why sales prices are the way they are. See why some areas might be more desirable. 
• Talk to neighbors: when possible, talk to neighbors about specific properties. They might know if a listing was distressed or if a seller was in a hurry to move. 

If you are a buyer, it’s worth it to visit a neighborhood you are interested in moving to multiple times at different times a day. Observe the neighborhood as a whole, including the people who live there. You might realize that your morning commute could be harder than you want or loud neighbors might make living next to a specific house difficult. However, you could also fall in love with a peaceful area that is close to some of your favorite amenities.

5. Use Real Estate Apps and Advanced Tools

If you can’t find what you are looking for on tools like Zillow and Realtor.com, expand your search to more advanced sites like Homesnap. You can also look into paid tools like CoreLogic or RPR (Realtors Property Resource). These tools are often used by professionals or investors who want deeper data insights. Investing in these tools might be worth the cost if you are preparing to become an investor and plan to buy and sell more properties in the future. However, they often aren’t worth it for casual buyers and sellers who need to make single real estate transactions.

You might notice that there is considerable overlap in your real estate industry research. This can help you identify which of the sources mentioned above provides the fastest and clearest information. Some tools might be better if you are interested in a particular subject property while others are designed for general research and browsing. Consider your needs as evaluate market trends.

Key Factors to Consider When Finding Comps

Once you know how to find recently sold properties, you can start to develop your own comparative market analysis. There are a few factors that real estate agents focus on when developing their CMAs. Here are a few things to look for when evaluating recently sold homes to ensure you get the fair market value of your property.

• Proximity:  Property values can change within cities and even within neighborhoods. The closer the comparable properties are to the target listing, the better. 
• Sale Date: Market conditions are volatile. Most real estate professionals will look at houses that sold within the last three to six months (or sooner) when identifying comps. 
• Size: Reliable real estate comps will have the same square footage, bedrooms, and bathrooms as the target property. 
• Layout: Some areas might have desirable layouts that pull higher prices. See if your house has a unique or in-demand layout in your area. 
• Condition: Your agent wants to make sure the comparable properties match the condition of your current one or target listings. 
• Lot Size: The house isn’t the only part of a property. Your agent should consider the impact of yard space or acreage on property value. A smaller house with an impressive yard might pull a higher price. 
• Unique Features: Your agent might evaluate specific desirable features like water access, garage spaces, home offices, pools, and other benefits. 
• Market Trends: An experienced real estate agent should adjust their CMA based on changing market conditions. If they see prices rising or falling, they will adjust their estimates. 

Two neighboring houses could have vastly different comparable prices if they are different sizes and are in different conditions. This is why it is important to consider all of the factors involved in pricing. 

How to Use Real Estate Comps

Everyone involved in the home sale or purchase process will use real estate comps to guide their decisions. While real estate agents are often the ones who pull recently sold homes and develop CMAs, several people use these reports. Both buyer’s agents and listing agents will evaluate the local real estate market before advising their clients. Here are a few ways everyone involved uses his information.  

Sellers

Home sellers use comps to set realistic asking prices to attract buyers while maximizing their potential profits. If the comps are inaccurate, they could overprice or underprice their homes, causing sellers to either lose money or time while a house stays on the market. 

Buyers

Buyers need accurate comps to understand the home prices in specific neighborhoods or areas where they want to buy. This can help them set their budgets before they start touring homes. Deeper in the purchase process, buyers will use comps to ensure specific properties are fairly priced to avoid overpaying. They can also use CMAs to guide their negotiation strategies. 

Appraisals

Home appraisers will look at recently sold homes to understand the potential value of certain properties. Home appraisals are used by buyers when they are trying to secure mortgages and by homeowners who are trying to refinance or secure home equity loans. 

Investors

Potential investors evaluate comps to identify opportunities for potential homes. They might look at distressed homes or bank-owned properties that are listed for low prices and then find real estate comps for properties in good condition. This alerts them to homes that could be worth more if they invest in repairs and upgrades. 

If the home sale or purchase process takes longer than expected, real estate professionals might need to run fresh CMAs based on new data. While most comps are valid for three months, some especially volatile markets might have data that is only valid for a few weeks. Talk to your real estate agent about the quality of their data and when they expect to pull fresh comps during the transaction process.  

Hire a Real Estate Agent to Pull Accurate Real Estate Comps

You don’t have to be an expert in finding real estate comps if you are a buyer, seller, or even investor. Instead, you can work with real estate agents who have experience in gathering these reports and who can quickly identify the market value of specific neighborhoods. Quality agents will pull accurate CMAs and rerun them if the data ever gets stale. You can feel confident that you have the best possible information in your hands.  

Use FastExpert to find a Realtor in your area. You can read agent profiles to learn about the agents near you. Hire someone who knows the houses in your area and who can pull comparable listings in the same neighborhood you want to buy or sell in. Turn to Fast Expert and browse one of the largest selections of licensed real estate agents in one place. Let us make entering the housing market easier for you.