Comparative Market Analysis Explained

Another important consideration in finding good comps is the sale date. The more recent, the better, especially in a changing market. Ideally, there will be enough recent sales that your agent will only have to go back three to six months. However, if there haven’t been a lot of sales in the neighborhood, your agent might need to look at sales over the past year. Only properties that have closed can be used as a true comp. However, it’s a good idea to look at active listings to ensure that you are pricing the property competitively. Listings that are pending, meaning they have gone under contract with a buyer but haven’t closed yet, can also provide useful information. The actual sale price of a pending listing is unknown until closing occurs, but looking at how many days it took the property to go under contract at the list price is useful in determining a list price.