Blog · BPO agents

Picking Comps for a BPO: A Practical Checklist

AppraiseQ team · 6 min read · 31 October 2026

The comps are the heart of a broker price opinion. A reviewer can forgive a slightly blurry photo; they won't forgive a value supported by sales that don't look like the subject. Most revision requests on BPOs come back to the comps in one way or another: too far away, too old, too big, too different, or not explained.

This guide walks through how to pick comps that hold up, in the order most agents actually work. Every vendor has its own guidelines, and they do differ, so treat this as a starting point and always check the order instructions and your vendor's guide first.

Know the subject before you search

You can't pick good comps for a property you only half know. Before opening the MLS search, write down the subject's basics in one place:

• Property type and style (detached, townhouse, condo, manufactured)
• Gross living area, from public record and from what you saw
• Bedrooms, bathrooms, basement and garage
• Year built and lot size
• Condition, as you saw it on the inspection
• Location features: busy road, backing to commercial, water, golf course, view

If public record and your own observation disagree (an unpermitted addition, a converted garage), note it now. It affects which comps make sense, and the reviewer will want to know which figure you used and why.

Start close, then widen carefully

The best comp is usually the most similar sale in the same neighborhood, not the most similar sale in the county. Start with a tight search and widen only when you have to:

1. Same subdivision or neighborhood, recent sales.
2. Within a short radius, without crossing major boundaries such as highways, rail lines, school district lines or a clear change in neighborhood character.
3. A wider radius, with a note explaining why the closer area had nothing suitable.

Many vendors set a preferred distance and a maximum age for sales, and some differ for urban, suburban and rural properties. Check the order instructions. When you go outside the preferred limits, say so and say why. An unexplained comp three miles away invites a revision; an explained one usually doesn't.

Recency and market direction

Recent sales reflect the current market better than older ones. If you have enough recent sales that match the subject, use them. If you have to reach back further, think about what the market did in the meantime. In a rising or falling market, an older sale may need a time adjustment, or at least a comment that explains the direction.

Your listings matter here too. Active and pending listings show where the market is heading, and many BPO forms ask for both sold comps and listing comps. Listings that have sat for a long time, or had price cuts, tell you something about what buyers won't pay.

Match on what buyers care about

A comp doesn't need to match every field. It needs to be something a buyer of the subject would also have looked at. Roughly in order of importance for most residential properties:

Bracketing is worth the extra minutes. If the subject is 1,600 square feet and your comps are 1,500, 1,650 and 1,700, the value sits naturally inside the range. If all three comps are larger, every adjustment goes the same way and the reviewer has to trust your numbers more.

Watch the sale conditions

Not every sale is an arm's-length market sale. Read the MLS remarks and the history before you use a comp:

• Foreclosure, REO or short sale: some orders want these included because they reflect the local market, others want them flagged or avoided. Follow the order instructions.
• Seller concessions: a large credit to the buyer can make the sale price look higher than the real value.
• Sales between relatives, or other non-market transfers: usually not suitable.
• Flips: a property bought cheap and resold renovated may be a fine comp for a renovated subject, and a poor one for a property that needs work.

Adjustments: keep them reasonable and consistent

If your form asks for adjustments, the goal is to show how each comp differs from the subject and how that moves the value. A few habits keep them defensible:

• Use the same adjustment rate for the same feature across all comps in the report.
• Base rates on what the local market shows, not on a number you've always used.
• If total adjustments on a comp are very large compared with its price, that comp is probably not similar enough. Look for a better one before you defend it.
• Your adjusted values should land reasonably close to each other. A wide spread means one comp doesn't belong, or an adjustment is off.

Write the comments reviewers look for

A reviewer only sees the report, not your reasoning. Short, specific comments answer their questions before they ask:

• Why you went outside the preferred distance or date range.
• Why a comp with a different feature was still the best available.
• Which comp you gave the most weight to, and why.
• What the market is doing: rising, stable, declining, and roughly how you know.
• Anything unusual about the subject that limited comp choices.

Avoid boilerplate. "Comps are the best available" says nothing. "No sales of two-story homes in the subdivision in the past six months; comps 2 and 3 are from the adjoining subdivision with similar age and lot sizes" tells the reviewer exactly what you did.

A quick comp checklist before you submit

1. Every comp is the same property type as the subject.
2. Comps are within the vendor's distance and date limits, or the exception is explained.
3. Living area and room counts are bracketed where possible.
4. Sale conditions are checked; distressed or concession sales are handled as the order asks.
5. Comp details match the MLS: no typos in square footage, price or dates.
6. Adjustments use consistent rates and adjusted values cluster together.
7. Your final value is supported by the comps you gave the most weight.
8. Comments explain every exception in plain words.

Most of the problems that lead to a BPO revision request show up on this list. Running through it takes a couple of minutes, and pairing it with a full QC check before you submit catches the rest.

When comps are scarce

Rural properties, unusual homes and slow markets make comp selection hard. You may need to widen the radius, go back further in time, or use a comp that differs in more ways than you'd like. That's fine, as long as you explain it. Reviewers generally accept a reasoned stretch; they push back on an unexplained one.

In these cases, look at the order instructions again. Some vendors allow fewer comps, older sales or longer distances in rural areas if you comment on it, and some ask you to call or message them before submitting. When in doubt, ask the vendor rather than guess.