There are several instances where finding out how much a house was purchased for can be useful. Perhaps you're considering selling your home. In that case, determining how much your neighbors were able to get for their homes may help you come up with the best selling price. If you're in the market to buy a home, you may want to see how much the home of your dreams is going for. Since real estate transactions are public record, you can access this information, even if you're just curious.
Check Your Local Newspapers
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Many towns opt to post all real estate transactions that occurred throughout the previous month in each of the towns within the county. If your local paper has a website, you should be able to locate this information with a quick search. Try typing "Property Transfers" into the search box. Most newspapers list the seller, buyer, property address and selling price.
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Browse Home Sales Sites
Unless the home was privately sold or kept off of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), you should be able to find out how much it sold for on any one of the major home sales sites. These include Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia.
From the site's homepage, type the property address in the search box and click the search icon. If the home sold very recently, you can also type in just the zip code and click the "Just Sold" tab. Click on the property from the list that you want to view. The property may say "Off Market," but it will also list the last price the home sold for.
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Contact a Local Realtor
Another option when it comes to finding out the sales price of a home is to call and ask a local real estate agent. This is especially a good option if you have multiple homes you are interested in learning more about. Licensed realtors have access to the MLS and can quickly conduct a search on your behalf. They can also get more detailed info if you need to know more specifics about the house, such as whether the home had a finished basement or whether it used oil or natural gas heat.
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Visit the County Recorder’s Office
Check to see if your county recorder's office has a website. Most do, which makes searching for public real estate records a breeze. Look for a tab on the homepage that says "Search Records."
Clark County, Nevada Recorder's Office allows individuals to search by name, parcel number, total value and more. They also allow for a simple search. From there you can select the date range of the information you're looking for. That's a great option if you know the date of sale.
Note: Should your county not have a website, you can still call and either request the information over the phone or make an appointment to visit the office.
Check Other County Offices
Some counties actually have real estate records offices. The County of Los Angeles, for example, has a Real Estate Records page on its website. From there, you can request an appointment to view real estate records or request a copy of the records either online, by mail or via fax.
It's important to note that there are nominal fees associated with requesting these copies. So, you may wish to use one of the previously mentioned methods for uncovering the selling price of a specific property.