How To See What Homes in My Area Sold For

Information on local sale prices may not be current data.

When trying to determine how much a house is worth, it is necessary to discover what other homes sold for in the general vicinity. Current data is necessary, such as sale prices within the last six months. Unfortunately some databases, such as the county assessor's office, may take months for the information to update. If the property has not closed escrow, discovering the sale price will be more challenging.

Instructions

1. Contact a realtor in your community and ask for the sale prices of homes in your area. A realtor typically has access to the area's multiple listing service (MLS) database, and will have the most accurate and current information.

2. Ask the seller or buyer of the property the sale price. The response may be "none of your business." If the sale has not closed escrow, this is one of the only ways to get the sale price as even the local realtors (not involved in the transaction) will not have access to that information. Typically that information is entered into the database after the close of escrow.

3. Visit the county website or county assessor's website, which might include such data on individual properties.

4. Contact a local title company or escrow officer and ask for the information. They have access to the information, yet local regulations or company policies may prevent them from sharing it.

5. Go online to websites like zillow.com, domania.com, trulia.com or homes.com and use their online forms to locate sold properties in your area. This will typically involve typing in the address and zip code on their search form.

Tips & Warnings

• Sales data posted on websites may not be current information.

References

• Zillow
• Domania
• Trulia