The house down the street sold for a number, and now that number is stuck in your head. It is the most common valuation mistake homeowners make, because a sale price is a headline and value lives in the details underneath it.
What public data leaves out
Records show what changed hands and for how much. They do not show the condition, the concessions, or the terms. A neighbor who closed high may have sold with a roof that has twenty years left, a new HVAC system, a modern electrical panel, updated plumbing, foundation work already done, or efficient windows throughout.
They may also have sold to a buyer who paid over market for reasons that have nothing to do with the property.
The variables that actually move your number
Lot position and orientation. Layout and flow. School attendance boundaries that shift block by block. Recent updates and their quality. Whether the sale was on the open market or a private arrangement between parties.
A real comparable analysis adjusts for each of those. Until it does, a neighbor’s price is a data point, not a valuation, and pricing your home against it is how listings end up sitting.
Read the full breakdown on HouseCashers.com