Sometimes buyers talk about a home’s value based on some sort of online tool like Zillow. Realtors do not look at online sites for home values. That is just a data base compiled from public records without any sort of interpretation. Think of it like this. There are 2 homes in the same community. They are the same size, same number of bedrooms ect. even the same age let’s say 1997. One has never had a single thing done to it. Original everything. The other has a new roof, AC and flooring. Online valuations have no way of knowing that.

When doing a CMA, a comparative market analysis, a Realtor looks at past sales on the MLS for condition. Out MLS retains sold listings complete with all pictures going back several years. We look at homes within certain parameters for size and age and we look at only recent sales. I like to only go back 90 days if at all possible. The price a home sold for last year is not a good comp especially in a constantly changing market. Buying a home is a huge purchase and you need the latest and best data you can get.