driving the comps

Comparable sales, also known as a “comparable” or collectively called “comps,” are the prices paid for similar houses that are comparable in location, condition, features, and size. Comps are essential in real estate appraisers because they are used to determine a home’s value. Using comps, buyers can decide on the price offer while sellers figure out how to price their home competitively in the market. When driving their comps, real estate agents and appraisers can pull up details they need on their comparables from a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database.

Accurately pricing a property is crucial factor in appraisals. What if you priced the property too low or too high? What if you overlooked some areas that affect the property’s worth? Precise information for comps is indeed the one thing to keep in mind, so here are the types of appraisal information to find that are important to the appraiser.