What are Home Comps?

Comps, or "comparables," are simply a collection of recent sales prices of similar homes in your area.

If you are considering selling your home, your Realtor will show you comps – what houses of the same approximate size in your neighborhood – have been selling for. That will help you both determine the best sales price for your house. If you are buying, comps are also worth looking at to help you measure the value/condition of the homes you are considering to what other buyers have thought appropriate prices were for similar homes in the neighborhood.

If a house exactly like yours – same size, same age, same condition - on the other side of town is selling for $200,000, don’t think you’re made in the shade at the same price. A host of things in your own neighborhood can affect your home’s price – the quality of schools, the crime rate, or the street you live on. For instance, you may have a stellar home, but if it’s on a busy street, its value will undoubtedly be less than a comparable home on a road less traveled. Potential rezoning of adjacent areas also can affect comps: If that lovely forest behind your home is due to become a sea of condominiums, your home’s value is likely to be less than a similar home that will retain its forest view.

So just remember: Your house isn’t compared to one across town; it’s compared to those across the street or around the corner.