Most sites that post sold data only do so based on tax records. The local listing services in Atlanta do not allow subscribers to publish sold data through websites - or to the public in general. They do, however, make the information available to agents for use in property valuation.

An agent or appraiser is going to have access to the local listing services, and that will be your best source of data. Local listing services carry data entered by agents, and typically have a number of photos on file as well. This assists in comparing conditions of sold properties.

In addition to the updated data, local listing services have information much quicker (typically) than sites relying on tax data. Agents in Atlanta are required to update sale information within 48 hours. It may be weeks or months if there is a backlog before the tax data is updated and distributed.

Contact an agent that works in your neighborhood and ask them for assistance.

For details about things like Zillow's estimate, take a look at this blog entry: http://directlinkrealty.wordpress.com/2010/06/02/how-accurat…

Angela,

Sites like Zillow often use the values from tax records to arrive at their comps. Tax records base their valuations on property features and floor plans that are often incorrect and sales from months earlier rather than the most recently closed transactions. An appraisal will likely be involved in the transaction under consideration, so an appraiser will probably come out and confirm the floor plan, room and lot sizes and more and then compare them against other similar properties to help arrive at a true valuation, so being fact-based is important. We agents don't offer valuations, but we can provide the most recent sales data on similar homes that may be captured in an appraisal. As Donna said, you'd get a better estimate from an agent with access to both FMLS and GAMLS.

If there's interest in knowing the comps on your property, please PM me your contact info or call me.

Thanks
Solomon Greene
REALTOR® Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners
(678) 775-2677

Your best source for accurate comparables is any local agent--comps are provided at no charge by most agents. Keep in mind that internet information is only as good as the source feeding it.

You could try a site like Zillow. But there are at least 4 drawbacks:

(1) The information isn't always up-to-date. That's often a problem with the local jurisdiction they're getting the information from. Even if you went online and queried your local tax assessor's office, you might find the information is a few months behind. In some cases--such as a city near where I live--for some reason Zillow can't get that data at all.

(2) The properties may not be real comps. Companies like Zillow use algorithyms to determine comps. But I've seen cases where it's brought up the values of condos and compared them with single-family homes. Or it may pull up a 2 bedroom on 1/4 of an acre and call it a comp to a 4 bedroom nearby on a full acre. Or it'll compare a home built last year to one built in 1951. You can go through the data and narrow down the real comps.

(3) The "sold" prices may not reflect certain things, such as seller subsidies--where the seller contributes perhaps 3% to help the buyer with closing costs. So on a sale that shows for $100,000, the "real" sales price is actually $97,000.

(4) The information probably won't reflect the condition of the house. And that can affect the sales price greatly.

Frankly, it'd probably be easier and more accurate to call a Realtor to get that information. But certainly feel free to try it yourself.

Hope that helps.