Home Values & Pricing
How are comps chosen and compared?
By Steve Lockhart
The short answer
Comparable sales, or comps, are the backbone of any honest home value, so it pays to know how they are actually chosen. The first rule is location.
Full answer
Comparable sales, or comps, are the backbone of any honest home value, so it pays to know how they are actually chosen.
The first rule is location. The best comp is in your community or on your street, because location transfers value. After that come the home type and size: a single family against a single family, a condo against a condo, similar square footage, bedrooms, and baths. A comp should look like a real comparison.
The second rule is the calendar. Markets move, so comps should generally be sales from the last three to six months. An older sale can still inform an unusual property or a slow market, but it carries less weight, and stale comps are a common reason a value feels slightly off.
The third rule is condition and features. No two homes are identical, so each comp is adjusted: a new kitchen, an extra bath, a larger garage, a better lot, a view; each os move the comparison toward your home. That is where skill enters, and why two strong agents can read the same sales and land a few thousands apart: they weight the adjustments differently.
The common tools are simple to understand. Price per square foot is one rough lens. The more complete method is whole home comparison: begin with a similar sale and add or subtract for each difference between it and your home until a range forms. That is the same process an appraiser does formally on a worksheet.
What is never a comp: a price is not a sale, and a hope is not evidence. A larger or more upgraded home than yours is a ceiling clue, not an average. When an agent says the comps support the number, ask to see each sale, the dates, and the adjustment logic. That evidence is what makes the number trustworthy, and you have the right to see it.
Go a little deeper
Frequently asked
Questions homeowners often follow up on
How many comps does a good value need?
A reliable range usually wants at least three to six solid ones, with the freshest closings weighted most. Fewer is acceptable in a sparse area, and more helps in a noisy one. Far more important than the count is that each comparable genuinely resembles your home.
How far back can a comp be?
Three to six months is the practical window in a moving market. It can stretch in a quiet market or for unusual homes, but every extra month needs a reason to be accepted. A stale comp can pull a value the wrong direction.
Why is price per square foot not enough?
Because it ignores the differences that really change value: location, lot, condition, upgrades, and layout. Two homes with the same square footage can sell quite far apart, and a per foot average can point you the wrong way. Use it as a check, not as the answer.
The Lockhart Method
The Lockhart Method
Your Home | My Strategy | Proven Results
My strategy: let the comps be seen, not believed on faith. I set every sale I use, why I chose it, and the exact adjustments that tie it to your home, so the range form right in front of you and you can test it with your own eye. The number you act on is the one you can explain.
Schedule a Consultation