What are comps? The rules of using comparables
Look at actives, pending and sold homes
Comps, also known as comparables, are a critical tool that real estate agents use to determine a home’s value.
My rule of thumb is this: Comps only have a shelf life of 90 days.
You’re looking for homes that:
- have the same bedroom count (same bathroom count is good but not an absolute)
- have square footage within 10 percent of the home you’re looking at
The closer to the subject the home is, the better. A half-mile is ideal, but don’t go further than two miles.
Look at actives, pending homes and sold homes.
Naturally, we give the most gravity to sold homes because they are the homes that were successfully sold.
