How to Run Comps Like a Pro in 2026
This guide is part of our complete deal analysis walkthrough.
Comparable sales analysis is the foundation of every real estate deal. Whether you're wholesaling, flipping, or holding for rental income, the accuracy of your comps determines your offer price, your marketing price, and ultimately whether the deal closes. Bad comps kill deals. Good comps build trust with buyers and make your numbers believable.
Most new wholesalers pull comps once, eyeball the numbers, and call it a day. Experienced investors know that comping is a skill, and the difference between a deal that sells in 48 hours and one that sits for weeks often comes down to how well you ran your numbers.
What makes a good comp
A comparable sale is a recently sold property that is similar enough to your subject property that a reasonable person would agree they should be worth roughly the same amount. That sounds simple, but "similar enough" is where most people get it wrong.
There are five factors that determine comp quality, and they matter in this order:
- Proximity. The closer the comp is to your subject, the better. Same subdivision is ideal. Same neighborhood is good. Same zip code is acceptable. Anything more than a mile away needs a strong justification.
- Recency. A sale from last month is better than one from six months ago. Markets move. In a flat market you can stretch to 12 months. In a rising or falling market, anything older than 6 months is unreliable.
- Size. Square footage should be within 20% of your subject. A 1,200 sqft comp for a 2,400 sqft subject is not a comp regardless of how close it is.
- Condition. This is where careful evaluation matters most. A fully renovated comp next door is not comparable to your property that needs a full gut rehab. You need to compare like-to-like condition by reviewing listing photos and descriptions.
- Property type and configuration. Bed/bath count, stories, lot size, garage, pool. A 3/2 ranch is not comparable to a 5/3 two-story even if they're the same square footage.
The radius and time frame trap
New investors often search a 5-mile radius over 12 months and take the average. This is almost always wrong. Here's why: a 5-mile radius in a suburban market can cross multiple school districts, flood zones, and price tiers. You're mixing properties that local buyers would never cross-shop.
Start tight, then expand. Begin in the same subdivision, within a quarter mile, and make sure your comps do not cross any major streets, highways, railroads, or school district boundaries. This is how appraisers do it -- they start with the most immediate neighborhood and only expand when they have to. If you don't have at least 3 comps, expand to 0.5 miles and 6 months. Only go beyond 1 mile if you absolutely have to, and note it in your analysis. Every time you widen the radius, you increase the risk of pulling comps from a different micro-market that does not reflect your subject's true value.
Time frame matters more in volatile markets. In a market that appreciated 10% last year, a comp from 12 months ago is effectively 10% too low. In a declining market, old comps make your ARV look inflated. Either way, recency is your friend. For a deeper look at how to turn comps into an accurate value estimate, see our guide on how to calculate ARV step by step.
Adjusting comps the right way
No two properties are identical, which means every comp needs adjustments. The question is how much to adjust and for what.
Square footage
The most common adjustment. Use a lump-sum dollar amount based on the size difference between the comp and your subject. In most suburban markets, appraisers assign $5,000 to $15,000 for a meaningful size difference (100-300 sqft). The key is to look at what similar-sized homes actually sell for in the neighborhood and derive the adjustment from paired sales, not from a per-sqft calculation. A comp that is 150 sqft larger than your subject might warrant a $7,000-$12,000 downward adjustment depending on the price tier and market.
Bed/bath count
Adding a bedroom to go from 2/1 to 3/2 is worth significantly more than going from 4/3 to 5/4. In most markets, the 3/2 threshold is where the bulk of buyers shop. Below it, you're in a smaller buyer pool. Above it, additional bedrooms have diminishing returns.
Condition
This is the hardest adjustment and where most wholesalers get it wrong. A renovated comp selling for $280K doesn't mean your unrenovated subject has an ARV of $280K. It means that if your subject were renovated to the same standard, it should be worth approximately $280K. Your buyer's spread comes from the gap between the as-is price and the ARV minus repair costs.
Lot size, garage, pool
These matter, but less than most people think. A pool adds $10-20K in warm climates for retail buyers, but it scares off landlords -- they see $5K-$20K in hidden rehab costs (resurfacing, equipment, decking, fence compliance), higher insurance, liability, and ongoing maintenance that eats into cash flow. In northern markets a pool adds almost nothing regardless of buyer type. A two-car garage versus a one-car adds $5-15K depending on the market. Lot size premiums vary wildly by neighborhood.
How many comps do you need?
Three is the minimum. Five is better. The more comps you have, the more confident your buyer will be in your number. If you can only find one or two good comps, that's a signal that either the property is unique (which means harder to sell) or you need to look at active listings and pending sales to supplement.
Active listings tell you the ceiling. Sold comps tell you the floor. Pending sales tell you what the market is doing right now.
Actives and pendings are your leading indicators. They are your future solds. Pay close attention to renovated active listings that have been sitting on the market for 60+ days. If updated properties similar to your subject are not moving, their list price is not a reliable ceiling -- your ARV likely needs to come in lower because those houses will probably sell for less than asking. A renovated 3/2 listed at $265K that has been sitting for two months with no offers tells you the market does not support $265K for that product in that neighborhood.
One of the most underused tactics in comp research: call the listing agents on active and pending renovated properties near your subject. Ask them how much traffic they have had, whether they have gotten close to an offer, and what feedback buyers are giving. Listing agents will often share this freely because they want exposure. The intel you get from a five-minute phone call -- whether the market is hot, tepid, or dead for that price point and product type -- is worth more than any algorithmic estimate.
The condition evaluation advantage
Traditional comp analysis treats all sales as equal. A renovated flip and a bank-owned foreclosure in the same neighborhood are weighted the same way, which makes no sense. Evaluating the condition of each comp from listing photos, descriptions, and property data changes this by letting you categorize comps into condition tiers.
When you filter comps by condition, you're comparing renovated-to-renovated or distressed-to-distressed. This gives you two numbers: what the property is worth as-is (using distressed comps) and what it's worth after renovation (using renovated comps). That spread is the deal. Whether you use sale comps or rental comps depends on your buyer's exit strategy -- see ARV vs ARR for guidance on when to use each.
Presenting comps to buyers
Your buyer doesn't care about your analysis process. They care about the conclusion and whether they trust it. Present your comps clearly: address, sale date, sale price, sqft, bed/bath, condition, distance from subject, and any adjustments you made. Transparency builds trust. If your buyer can look at your comps and agree with your ARV independently, the deal will move fast.
The investors who consistently close the most deals are the ones whose numbers are reliable. Every deal you send out with solid comps builds your reputation. Every deal with inflated numbers erodes it. Your comp analysis isn't just math. It's your credibility. Once your comps are solid, use them to calculate your maximum allowable offer and price the deal right.