HOW TO FIND THE BEST COMPS
HOW DO YOU PICK THE RIGHT COMPS?
When you price your home, you are telling buyers this is what your house is worth. Buyers and their agents are going to research the market and see if that price makes sense based on the historical home sales in the area. So it also makes sense for you to use that very information to base your pricing decision. Finding comparable homes to use can be challenging at times, but here are some quick tips to keep in mind as you build the case for your home’s market value.
KEEP IT CLOSE
Choosing your search area for comps is an If you live in a subdivision, gated community or a condo you sand stay within those areas for your search. Usually, this means the homes are very similar in size, layout, bed & bath count, style, features, etc. It makes your math easier.
MOST RECENT SALES
When choosing sales for your market analysis, use the most recent sales possible. The market is always changing and sales from 1 year ago may not reflect how the market is today. Home values could have appreciated since then or inventorycould be sitting on the market in your neighbor-hood. Start looking at sales in the last 30-45 days then expand your search if you can’t find a good number of transactions to work with.
FIND SIMILAR STYLES
Use homes that are of a similar build style. For instance, if your home is Craftsman-style then try to keep your comps the same. Sometimes you don’t have a choice, but if you can, try to compare the homes most like yours.
CONDITION MATTERS
Is your home well-maintained, but you haven’t changed anything? Did you recently renovate any major areas of your home and bring them up to current standards? These are questions to determine the condition of your home. A home that was built within the past 3 years and the home built in 1963 and never remodeled are considered to be in much different conditions. This difference makes it very difficult to compare value,so avoid using homes that have these vastly different levels of condition.
MATCH ANY UPDATES
Did you renovate your kitchen or primary bathroom? It helps if you find homes that have those updates in common. These updates can add significant value, so finding homes with similar work done can give you a great idea on how much that work has impacted your home’s market value, as well as, showing you projects that can add to your bottom line when you sell.
COMMON FEATURES
What is a feature? A feature is a pool, a finished basement, backs up to a golf course, or has the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms. If your house has a pool, try and find homes with pools. If you have a finished basement, seek out homes with finished
basements. The more a comparable is like yours, the easier it will be to narrow down your home’s value
HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
We’re happy to answer any concerns you might have.
