The term comp is short for comparable. In real estate when someone mentions a comp they’re talking about comparing the price that you think you want to sell your home for vs. what similar homes in the immediate area have sold for recently. To help you do this we provide a free tool called Market Snapshot.
This is useful for a number of reasons, the biggest being that a comp allows you to see if your home is reasonably priced given it’s location. Our Market Snapshot tool go a little further than the typical comp and actually shows how long specific homes took to sell. Knowing this information in addition to the high, low, and average prices of an area is an extremely powerful tool to you as someone buying or selling a home.
A home priced below value is more likely to sell faster than a comparable home that is offered at a price higher than similar homes in the area. As a buyer you can use this information to have your agent find you the best value for your dollar in addition to negotiating the best price possible.
As someone selling a house, comps are still very useful. If you’re trying to move quickly than pricing your home above the average price of similar homes will mean that your house is more likely to sit on the market until one of two things happens: 1. Someone falls in love with your house. 2. You lower the price.
If you offer your house for its market value you can reasonably expect it to sell within the average time it takes similar homes to sell. Our Market Snapshot will tell you what that average time is.
Finally, if you price your home below the market it is more likely to seller faster than similar homes as its price presents a greater value to buyers. As a buyer, if you see a home priced below comparable homes, it’s best to express your interest in it to your Realtor® quickly as these homes very seldom stay on the market long.
To get your Market Snapshot: Click Here