How to Run Comps on Redfin

A simple part of determining whether a real estate deal works or not is running comps.

Comparables or "comps" show what other homes in the area are selling for. You can determine this by looking at the sales price and square footage.

Here's a quick tutorial on how to run comps on Redfin:

Redfin is a search engine for you to check real estate listings if you don’t have the MLS.

It's one of the most well-designed real estate search engines on the web.

Let's say we have a property in San Antonio.

It's a 3 bedroom x 2 bathroom at 1,400 square feet.

We click on "more filters" then the "for sale" button.

Keep in mind that we're looking for properties that have already sold, not currently for sale.

You could also look up active listings, under contract listings, or "pending houses."

On the right side, there will be a drop-down time option. Some people have a rule of thumb to not go past 3 months. It depends on your area and how quickly houses are being sold. For example, homes in the major Texas metro areas will sell faster. In that case, try to keep it under 3 months. For secondary markets, 3-12 months should be fine.

Others also keep the "20% rule" in mind. This means going 20% higher and lower on your target square footage.

For example, if you had a 1,500 square foot home, try to make it a minimum of 1,200 feet and maximum of 1,800 square feet.

Remember your plan for the property. If you're looking to buy a property that's 1,000 square feet and you plan to add another 200 square feet, try to look for comps between 1,200 and 1,500 square feet.

You'll notice that the search engine has narrowed down the houses that are comps.

When looking for the distance between the subject property and possible comps, try to stay within the neighborhood, no more than two miles away. Again, it depends on the neighborhood and area. Just don't cross a major street, highway, or interstate because home values can drastically vary between neighborhoods.

The idea is to find the best three comps.

For every list created, scroll to the bottom of the list and hit the "download all" option.

This will download an excel spreadsheet for you.

It gives a clean list of potential comps without you having to manually enter values.

Talk about convenient!

Another way of searching for properties is by zip code.

Choose the zip code that you want to search and repeat the same process.

Get three or four comps, then go from there.

Did we miss anything? How do you run comps?