comparable sales

Definition

Recently sold properties similar to yours that allegedly determine your home's value, though somehow the appraiser always picks the worst examples when you're selling and the best when you're buying. It's objective data filtered through suspiciously convenient selection.

Example Usage

According to comparable sales, my renovated Victorian is worth the same as the fixer-upper three blocks away.

Source: Real estate appraisal terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

Fair Market Value

A completely made-up number that everyone pretends is scientific because an appraiser with a clipboard said so. It's "fair" the same way a casino is "fair" -- technically accurate but someone always feels robbed.

🏠 Real Estate

Intermediate

dual agency

When one agent represents both buyer and seller in the same transaction, creating a conflict of interest wrapped in a commission opportunity. It's like having the same lawyer represent both parties in a divorce.

🏠 Real Estate

Beginner

duplex

A single building cleverly divided into two separate dwelling units, allowing property owners to live in one half while collecting rent from neighbors who share their walls. It's the real estate equivalent of having your cake and eating it too, assuming you don't mind hearing your tenant's TV through the drywall. In postal circles, it's also a fancy stamp cancellation, but nobody cares about that definition anymore.

🏠 Real Estate

Intermediate

rent-back agreement

An arrangement where sellers continue renting their former home from buyers after closing, usually for a short period. It's the awkward transition period where you're both landlord and confused.

🏠 Real Estate

Beginner

Square Footage

The official measurement of how much space you're buying, generously calculated by including hallways, closets, and that weird alcove where the water heater lives. The number in the listing and the number you experience are two very different things.

🏠 Real Estate

Advanced

pocket commission

The extra compensation an agent receives when representing both buyer and seller, also called double-ending. Twice the work or twice the conflict of interest, depending on who you ask.

🏠 Real Estate

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