How to Get Comps Without MLS Access or a Realtor (Free)

You can get usable comps without MLS access by pulling recent sales from the sold filter on Zillow, Redfin or Realtor.com, then confirming each sale's date and price on the county recorder or assessor website. The consumer sites give you photos and listing details; the county record tells you the sale actually closed and for how much. If you want the most reliable numbers for free, ask an agent to pull MLS sold comps for you, and in non-disclosure states such as Texas, that is often the only free way to confirm a price.

Disclosure: Deal Run is our product. Everything on this page works without it; it appears once, near the end.

Part of the comps guide: how to pull comps covers how to choose 3–5 comps and what makes one good. This page is about where to get the sales data when you don't have an MLS login.

Free Comp Sources, Ranked by Reliability

"Reliable" here means two things: is the sale price the real closed price, and can you see the house's condition at the time it sold? No free source gives you both, which is why you combine them.

1. An agent who pulls MLS comps for you

The MLS is still the best single comp source: closed price, sale date, listing photos, agent remarks about condition, and days on market, all in one record. You don't need your own login if an agent will run the search for you. Agents who work with investors often will, because you may bring them listings or buyers. Ask for sold, pending and active listings within your radius, and ask for the remarks, not just the price. If you later want to do it yourself, our guide on pulling comps on the MLS covers the filters.

2. County recorder and assessor records

Every county keeps a deed record, and in most states the sale price is either on the deed or in the assessor's sales data. Search the county's property or parcel lookup (often run by the assessor, appraiser or auditor) by address, and look for a sales history tab. The recorder or clerk's deed index shows the deed itself: grantor, grantee, date, and in many states the transfer tax paid.

County records are the best way to confirm a sale really closed at a given price, and the worst way to judge condition: there are no photos, and the house's recorded square footage can be years out of date. Use them to verify, not to pick. For a longer look at what public records can and can't tell you, see MLS vs public records comps.

Reverse-calculating a price from transfer tax. Where the deed shows a transfer tax but not the price, you can work backward. Florida's documentary stamp tax on deeds is 70 cents per $100 of consideration in most counties (60 cents in Miami-Dade), according to the Florida Department of Revenue. A deed with $1,925 in doc stamps implies about $1,925 ÷ 0.70 × 100 = $275,000. Other states use different rates, so check your state revenue department's rate before doing the math.

3–5. Redfin, Zillow and Realtor.com sold filters

All three let anyone search sold homes on a map for free. Redfin's data-quality page says US users see records of past sales from last week to 20 years ago. They're the fastest way to build a first list of candidates, because you see photos, beds, baths, square footage and price history on one screen. Treat them as roughly equal and use whichever shows the most detail for your market; the ranking above is close. What they show is only as good as the listing behind it, so confirm the numbers you plan to use.

6. Title companies

Many title companies run property profiles and lists of nearby recorded sales for agents and investors who send them business. It's worth asking the title company you close with. What they can share is limited to what is recorded, so in non-disclosure states it usually won't add sale prices.

How to Pull Sold Comps on Zillow

Zillow moves its menus around from time to time, and the app differs a little from the website. If a label below doesn't match, look for a sold or recently sold option in the listing-status filter, where you'd normally choose for sale or for rent.

1. Search the area, not just the house. Type the subject property's address or ZIP code, then zoom the map so it covers the subject's neighborhood. Stay on the same side of major roads, rail lines and school boundaries.
2. Switch the listing status to sold. The search starts on homes for sale. Open the listing-type or status filter and choose sold (recently sold).
3. Set the sold date window. Start with the last 6 months. Widen to 12 months only if you can't find 3 good sales.
4. Match the house. Set home type (single family, condo, townhouse), beds and baths within one of the subject, and a square-footage range of roughly 20% either side.
5. Open every result. For each sold listing, note the sold price, sold date, square footage, lot size, garage, and the photos. Check the price history: a house bought cheap and resold a few months later at a higher price is usually a flip, which makes it a good ARV comp.
6. Ignore the Zestimate. You want what houses actually sold for. The Zestimate is an automated estimate of market value, not an appraisal and not a sale price.

How to Pull Sold Comps on Redfin

Redfin's layout changes too. If you can't find it, look for a sold option in the listing-status filter. The steps:

1. Search the subject's address, neighborhood or ZIP code and switch the map to sold homes (Redfin also publishes "recently sold" pages for cities, ZIP codes and neighborhoods).
2. Use the filters to set the sold-within window, home type, beds, baths and square footage, the same way as above.
3. Draw or zoom to the subject's neighborhood.
4. Open each sale and read the property history and photos. Note whether the photos are from the sale you're comping or from an older listing of the same house.

On Realtor.com the process is the same: search the area, switch to recently sold, then filter. Running the same search on two sites is a cheap way to catch a sale one site is missing.

The Limits of Free Comps

Non-disclosure states

In some states the sale price isn't part of the public record. Property data company ATTOM lists 12: Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri (some counties), Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Other sources count slightly differently. In those states, a sold price on a consumer site can't be checked against the county, and the county's appraised value is a tax assessment, not a sale price. That's where an agent's MLS search, or a paid tool with sale-price data for your market, earns its keep. Our page on non-disclosure states covers the workarounds state by state.

A Zestimate or any AVM is not an ARV

An automated valuation model (AVM) estimates what a house is worth today from records and market data. After-repair value (ARV) is what the house should sell for once you've fixed it, based on renovated sales. On a distressed house those are different numbers, and the AVM is neither. Don't put an AVM figure in a deal package as the ARV; buyers will comp it themselves and lose trust in the rest of your numbers.

Condition is the hardest part

The sale price tells you nothing about the kitchen. Listing photos do, but only if the house sold through a listing, and only if the photos are from that sale. For each comp, decide whether it sold renovated, average or distressed, and keep ARV comps to the renovated ones. A distressed sale next door tells you what investors pay, not what your rehab will sell for.

Not every sale is a real comp

Skip sales between family members, foreclosure auctions, deeds for a token amount, and portfolio sales where one price covered several houses. These are not arm's-length market sales, and the county record or the deed type usually gives them away.

How to Sanity-Check Your Comps

1. Two sources per comp. Confirm each sale's date and price on the county record (where prices are public) and look at its photos on a consumer site.
2. Bracket the subject. Try to have at least one comp a little bigger and one a little smaller, one a little better and one a little worse. If every comp is bigger and nicer, your number is too high.
3. Compare price per square foot. Divide each sale price by its square footage. If one comp is far off the others, find out why before you average it in. The free ARV calculator does this math from your comps.
4. Adjust for real differences. A missing garage, an extra bath or a busy street changes value. Our guide to comp adjustments shows how to work out the dollar amount from local sales instead of guessing.
5. Check against what's for sale now. If your ARV is above every renovated house currently listed in the neighborhood, it's probably high.
6. Ask a buyer. A local flipper will tell you quickly whether your ARV is believable, because they'll run their own comps before they make an offer.

Once you have 3–5 comps you trust, the next step is turning them into a number: see how to calculate ARV.

When a Paid Comps Tool Is Worth It

Free comps cost time. Pulling, verifying and adjusting comps by hand on one house can take an hour or more. A paid tool is worth it when any of these is true:

• You comp several houses a week, and the time matters more than the subscription.
• You work a non-disclosure state and don't have an agent who'll pull MLS comps for you.
• You need to show buyers clean, consistent comps in every deal package.

Two examples, checked on each vendor's pricing page on October 29, 2026: Propelio has a free plan with 3 comps a month and a Beginner plan at $29/mo ($21/mo billed annually) with 35; PropStream includes running comps on all plans, starting with Essentials at $99/mo ($81/mo billed annually). For a fuller comparison, see the best comp analysis tools.

Doing This in Deal Run

Deal Run is our product. Enter a property's address and it pulls sold and rental comps and calculates ARV, then carries that into repair estimates from the property's photos and a max offer for flip, rental and wholesale exits. You can still check its comps with the free methods above, and you should check any tool's comps that way.

To try it without paying, use the public demo on the homepage: enter an address and see the comps and ARV before you pay. Analyze is $29/mo and includes one disposition deal. Analyze + Sell is $99/mo (or $83/mo billed annually) and adds finding and contacting buyers. Or pay per deal: $2 to analyze, $20 with 100 buyers. See how comp analysis works in Deal Run.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get comps without a realtor?

Use the sold filter on Zillow, Redfin or Realtor.com to find recent sales near the house, then confirm each sale on the county recorder or assessor website. Keep 3 to 5 sales that match the house on location, size, type and finished condition. If you can, ask an agent or a title company to check your picks.

Can I pull comps on Zillow?

Yes. Switch the listing status from for sale to sold, narrow the sold date, home type, beds, baths and square footage, and open each sold listing to check the price, date, photos and price history. Use the sold prices, not the Zestimate, which is an automated estimate of value, not an appraisal or a sale price.

Are Zillow and Redfin sold prices accurate?

They are usually good enough to screen a deal, but treat each one as a lead to verify. Confirm the sale date and price on the county record where prices are public, check that it was a normal arm's-length sale, and look at whether the photos belong to that sale or an older listing.

How do I get comps in a non-disclosure state like Texas?

County records there generally don't show sale prices, so free sites and the county can't confirm the number. The practical routes are an agent who can pull MLS sold data for you, local investors and title companies you work with, or a paid tool that has sale-price data for that market.

Is a Zestimate the same as ARV?

No. A Zestimate is an automated estimate of a home's market value; ARV is what the house should sell for after your repairs, based on renovated sold comps. On a house that needs work, an automated estimate is neither number. Calculate ARV from comps.

Sources and Check Dates

• Redfin, Data Quality on Redfin — redfin.com/about/data-quality-on-redfin — Redfin shows US users records of past sales from last week to 20 years ago. Checked October 29, 2026.
• ATTOM, non-disclosure states — attomdata.com — the list of 12 non-disclosure states, with Missouri marked "some counties" (article dated October 31, 2022). Checked October 29, 2026.
• Florida Department of Revenue, Documentary Stamp Tax — floridarevenue.com — 70 cents per $100 on deeds, 60 cents in Miami-Dade. Checked October 29, 2026.
• Propelio pricing — propelio.com/pricing — free plan with 3 comps; Beginner $29/mo ($21/mo annual) with 35. Checked October 29, 2026.
• PropStream pricing — propstream.com/pricing — Essentials $99/mo ($81/mo annual); "Run Comps" included on all plans. Checked October 29, 2026.

Related Articles

• Real Estate Comps: How to Pull Them
• Pulling Comps on the MLS
• MLS vs Public Records Comps
• Comps in Non-Disclosure States
• Comp Adjustments Explained
• How Far Out Can Comps Be?
• Sold vs Pending Comps
• Rural Comps
• Rental Comps
• Free ARV Calculator
• Next: How to Calculate ARV