Hey guys, i have a question: Can i rely only on the MLS comps to comp a house or do i also have to use a third party site like Zillow and such?

Originally posted by @Juan Rubio :

Hey guys, i have a question: Can i rely only on the MLS comps to comp a house or do i also have to use a third party site like Zillow and such?

Use the MLS. Zillow pulls from the MLS but it is not always accurate.

Let me rephrase the question; what is the most comprehensive source for all real estate transactions? Answer: the land registry in your county. At the end of the day, all title transfers have to go through them. Unfortunately, they generally have not set up the tools needed to extract the information (or they don't provide public access to them) needed.

So you go to the next best source which has also has the tools needed. MLS still gets the vast vast majority of single / small multi-family listings and their members (agents) have access to tools that let you 'mine' the data.

Sites like Zillow / Trulia get their data from the county (and MLS?) but again don't really have the tools (e.g. Days On Market, Price Changes). I think they are good for 'spot checking' but take more effort.

thank you!

99% of end buyers are using MLS to compare your house to other houses, so those are the comps that matter.

@Jason DiClemente spot on. The MLS is what everyone else uses. If you don't have access to it and your county has information accessible online you can use that as well. That would at least give you the sale price and date but I wouldn't count on it for correct information about the property, like square footage, beds & baths