Real Estate Comps

jay-tea · February 2012

Question: should I be concerned that out of 12 comps my agent pulled, 10 were either short sales or about half the size of ours? It really bothers me that my house is being compared to a 900 square foot house with no basement in short sale.

(I do plan on asking her, but wanted to know if I'm being picky)

Justinlove · February 2012

The reality is, short sales and foreclosures are part of the market and are used as comps by buyers. It stinks as a seller since it hurts your home value in the eyes of the buyers. I'd certainly ask her about it, but remember ultimately, you make the final call on asking price.

jay-tea · February 2012

True. I'm more annoyed about the 900 square feet houses.

terpsfan · February 2012

Short sales are unfortunately comps but I'd be more concerned with finding similar house sizes (same number of BR, BA as yours) to come up with what the true market value of YOUR type of house would be. Have you done your own realtor.com search of your neighborhood and taken a look at everything listed and seen what is similar to yours? When we interviewed realtors we had already seen everything they brought to the table current market-wise...

kaylie622 · February 2012

If it's half the size and has no basement, then it doesn't sound like a comp to me.

I would take or leave the short sales depending on how many are on the market where you are. As a buyer, I won't go near them and there are a lot of others who won't either. They definitely factor into the pricing of your home, but I don't think you need to price yours on par with them.

Juris11 · February 2012

If the foreclosure or short sale was truly comparable to your house, then I think you have to deal. But I think a house that is significantly smaller and doesn't have a basement vs. you having one is actually a big deal. Those are things that buyers notice and care about. I would price above those comps. As someone who is looking, I would see the justification there.

NextChapter · February 2012

Juris11:
If the foreclosure or short sale was truly comparable to your house, then I think you have to deal. But I think a house that is significantly smaller and doesn't have a basement vs. you having one is actually a big deal. Those are things that buyers notice and care about. I would price above those comps. As someone who is looking, I would see the justification there.

This.

JoeLies · February 2012

Our agent does comps based on similar age and price range, but then breaks it down by price per square foot. There's no way a 900 square foot home should be compared to yours, that's just not an apples to apples comparison.

lil_jen051708 · February 2012

Is she suggesting that you list at a similar price to these smaller homes and SS's? Or is she saying that the 900 sq ft home sold at $90,000 ($100/sq ft) so your 1800 sq ft home would be $100 x 1800= $180,000 and then your basement would be valued at an additional $x per sq ft and so yours should list around $200k? I could see it being more helpful if she's using it to determine price per sq ft than if she's just making a blanket comparison. Unfortunately those might be the best and most recent comps to use but I'd ask her to see!

jay-tea · February 2012

She's suggesting we price similarly to the much smaller houses. So, I talked to a new agent and we're meeting with her on Sunday.

Gannon · February 2012

While I agree, they are not the best 'straight-line' comps, in your Realtors defense, it may be all she/he has to work with. Keep in mind, adjustments are made for differences (size, upgrades etc).

Short sales and REO's are a fact of life right now. There is some value to being a 'traditional' sale that doesn't mean you wont be competing with short sales/REO's.

I would still suggest going over the comps with her and speaking about them directly but they may be the best there is to work with.

Good luck!

A Realtor in CA

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