Comparable Sales

Comparable sales, commonly called "comps," are recently sold properties that agents analyze when estimating a home's market value. They're the evidence behind any CMA and the primary foundation of any informed pricing decision.

A meaningful comparable shares relevant characteristics with the property being evaluated: similar location, size, layout, age, condition, features, and sale timing. Comparables don't need to be identical; they rarely are. What matters is how relevant the comparison is given the differences between the two homes.

An important distinction: comparable sales are sold properties, not active listings. Sold properties show what buyers actually paid. Active listings show what sellers are asking, which is useful for understanding current competition, but not the same as evidence of completed transactions. Agents typically review both: sold comps for market value evidence, active listings for competitive context.

The most recent comparable sales carry the most weight. Markets change, and a sale from 12 months ago may not reflect current buyer behavior. For more on how agents use comps to develop pricing strategy, see How Realtors Determine What a Home Is Worth and the full discussion in How Much Is My House Worth?

Comparable sales are the primary foundation of any serious home value estimate. Without recent sold data, market value estimates are speculative. With good comps, an agent can develop a well-supported pricing range that reflects what buyers in the current market are actually doing, not what anyone guesses or hopes.

Understanding how comps work also helps sellers evaluate pricing recommendations with more clarity. When an agent recommends a specific range, it's because the sold evidence supports it, not because the number was invented. Knowing why the number is what it is makes it easier to make confident, informed decisions.

An agent preparing a CMA identifies four homes in the same subdivision that sold in the past 90 days. The homes range from 1,850 to 2,100 square feet; the subject property is 1,975 square feet. After reviewing each comparable and making adjustments for differences in condition, bedroom count, and lot size, the agent arrives at a value range of $358,000–$372,000. No single comparable tells the whole story; all four together provide the evidence.

"My neighbor's sale tells me exactly what my house is worth."

Your neighbor's sale is one data point, and a potentially relevant one. But two homes on the same street can have meaningfully different values based on size, condition, lot characteristics, finishes, and other factors. A well-prepared CMA uses multiple comparables and adjusts for differences between each one and the subject property, producing a more reliable picture than any single sale can provide on its own.