How to Find Out How Much a House Sold For

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By Mariia Kislitsyna Updated December 23, 2024
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Edited by Cara Haynes

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Ever wondered to yourself how much a house sold for? Most people do. Luckily, there are lots of ways to find out. While some options can provide you with a rough estimate of how much a house sold for (which is all you might need anyway), others can be a reliable source of accurate, up-to-date information. 

Let’s look at why people might research the sale price of a house and some common approaches to doing so.

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Why would you want to find out how much a house sold for?

Whether you’re on the buying side, the selling side, or simply the curious side, there are several reasons to know how much a house sold for.

  • Researching to see how much to list your house for
  • Investigating an area to see what you can afford
  • Interest in a particular house you have been eyeing for some time
  • Exploring property value trends
  • Preparing for price negotiations

How do you find out how much a house sold for?

When you want to learn the price of a house you’re interested in (or what your own home sold for in the past), there are a few ways you can do it. The method you choose depends on how accurate you need the information to be. Here are the most common ways to find out how much a house sold for:

SourceProsConsCost
Search engine
  • Free
  • Fast and easy
  • Could have a decent amount of information
  • May not be accurate
  • Limited details, outdated or no info at all 
Free
Real estate websites (such as Zillow, Realtor.com, etc.)
  • Fast and easy
  • Could be enough if all you need is rough estimates
  • Potential inaccuracies in home valuations and sales prices
  • Limited details
  • Extra costs to access more information
Free for basic information, could have additional costs for premium info
County Clerk’s Office or tax assessor’s office
  • Most accurate and recent information
  • Access to historical data
  • The biggest variety of data
  • Could be more time consuming
  • Some state laws prohibit accessing this data
Usually free but could have fees to access it depending on the state
Real estate agent
  • Accurate and up-to-date information
  • Access to historical data
  • Might have to sign an agreement with a realtor for them to give you MLS access
Have to pay realtor’s fees if you end up buying or selling with the agent
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1. Look up the address in search engines.

You may be surprised how much you can learn about the property from a simple Google search. With search engine results, you can piece together a variety of details on a property, such as square footage, photos throughout the years, recent sales data, and even news articles about the property.

2. Head to real estate websites.

You can also use real estate sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, or Trulia. For example, on Realtor.com, you can head to a particular section called “recently sold homes.” Here, you can find information on the latest sale prices in your area of interest. 

Remember that these prices may not be 100% accurate. For instance, they may not reflect any seller concessions. The data may also include closing costs, which would make it appear that the house sold for more than it did.

If you are considering putting your property on the market and want to check its estimated value, a tool such as Zestimate (Zillow’s property evaluator) could be a good place to start. It’s free, and you can see an approximate value for your home.

Zestimate

Just like with recent sales, this information is usually not perfectly accurate. For example, Zillow scrapes its data from third-party sources that access public records, assesses prices for similar homes sold in the area, and takes into account home details, such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms. On average, the median error for off-market homes is 7.52%,[1] which makes it a decent source for preliminary research but not quite enough to use as the basis for finalizing your home’s selling price.

If you need to know the exact number of how much a house was sold for, the following three options we talk about are your best bet.

3. Check with your county clerk's office.

Your county recorder’s office maintains all records of real estate transactions and has precise information available to the public (unless you live in a non-disclosure state). You can head to the office’s website to see if it has an online database or visit it in person. In most counties, you’ll be able to search through and look at the records yourself. In some others, the office staff might need to look them up for you.

county clerk's office

For example, if you search for this information in San Francisco, you will need the name of the past or current owner but cannot search by the property address. In some other counties, you might need only the address. Usually, the more information you have, the higher the chances you will obtain the data you’re looking for.

The information that you can find in the record includes the following:

  • Current and previous owners
  • Property deeds
  • Property characteristics
  • Lot area
  • Zoning details

If you prefer to do your search online, you can check the Public Records Online Directory to see which office has the records you need. Typically, you can do this search for free, but in some counties, you might have to pay a nominal fee for the search. 

Non-disclosure states

If the property is in a non-disclosure state (or county), you may be out of luck. In these states, the sales price is not required to be reported to the public or be recorded in the database. So, it may not be possible to find the information you need through county records.

The current non-disclosure states in 2024 are the following:[2]

  • Alaska
  • Idaho
  • Kansas
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri (some counties)
  • Montana
  • New Mexico
  • North Dakota
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Wyoming

4. Talk to the county tax assessor’s office.

Similar to the county recorder’s office, your local tax assessor can share the assessed value of a home (which is likely lower than what it sold for). You will need only the property’s address (and the owner’s name, in certain cases) to see the property’s assessed value. This could give you a baseline understanding of what a property could be sold for.

5. Consult a real estate agent.

Asking a local real estate agent to look up the house on the multiple listing service (MLS) is a solid option if you’re already planning on working with an agent. The MLS is a database available to agents who use it to list homes, find homes for sale, and share with each other the sales data for any property listed. You can also try to access the MLS without a realtor.

If you are already working with a realtor, this might be the best way to get accurate information without the need to go through the hassle of checking public records. Also, access to the MLS may be the only way to learn the selling price of a house in the non-disclosure state. If you’re a seller, a professional realtor can not only help you learn the prices of properties nearby, but also equip you with tools such as a comparative market analysis, insights into the local market, and current trends in the real estate space.

Keep in mind that you can’t simply call any agent and ask them to share access to MLS information. Usually, you’ll have to sign an agreement with them first and explain why you may need this information. 

FAQ about how to find out how much a house sold for

How do I find out if someone owns property?

You can find out who owns a piece of property at the local county recorder’s office or on its website since the local governments keep track of all property records. Each record would contain the address of the property, what the property was sold for, and all past and current owners.

Alternatively, you can try the online public record database. Keep in mind that some states have non-disclosure laws that prohibit government offices from sharing real estate information with the public.

Are real estate transactions public record?

For most states, real estate transactions are public records. Many county offices even have websites so you can access data online, but some may require you to visit their local office.

There are a few states and counties that have non-disclosure laws and won’t release real estate transactions to the public. If you’re interested in details on a real estate transaction in a non-disclosure area, you should contact a local realtor.

How do I find out a house’s history?

When you want to find out the history of a house, you can do a fair amount of research online. For more accurate information, check for a property abstract at your county recorder’s office and ask to review the chain of title.

You can also check legal documents, such as deeds, mortgages, wills, probate records, tax sales, and even court litigation. These documents will also have the names of all the people who have owned the house, how long they owned it, and what they paid for it, among other things.

How do I find real estate comps?

If you want to find real estate comps, you can get a ballpark figure by using real estate websites and looking for homes in the same neighborhood or zip code. The more details that you have on the home you are trying to get a comparable value for, the better.

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