Short Answer
Comparable sales, or comps, are recently sold homes that are similar to yours in location, size, condition, and features. Real estate agents and appraisers use comps to estimate your home's value by comparing it to homes that have already sold. The most reliable comps are homes sold within the last three to six months within a half-mile of your property.
Comps are the foundation of real estate valuation. When determining your home's value, a real estate agent or appraiser will look for recently sold homes that are as similar as possible to yours. They look at location first, favoring sales within the same neighborhood or even the same street. Then they compare size (square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms), age, condition, and special features like a finished basement, updated kitchen, or pool. Adjustments are made for differences. If a comp has a renovated kitchen and yours does not, the appraiser subtracts value. If your lot is larger, the appraiser adds value. The goal is to arrive at a value range that reflects what a typical buyer would pay for your home in the current market. Comps are not perfect. Every home is unique, and market conditions change. But they are the most objective way to estimate value.
Bob's Advice
Redfin Senior Agent · AI Certified Agent
Understanding comps is essential to pricing your home correctly. I have seen sellers price their home based on what they think it is worth emotionally, only to sit on the market while comparable homes sell around them. When I prepare a CMA for a seller, I show them exactly which comps I used and explain the adjustments I made. This transparency builds trust and leads to better pricing decisions.
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