How to Estimate ARV with Sold Comps

Every flip and wholesale number starts with the after repair value. Here is how to pick comparable sales and turn them into an ARV you can defend.

DealWorthIQ Team · 2026-09-14

After repair value (ARV) is what a property should sell for once the renovation is finished. Your maximum offer, your rehab budget, your lender's loan amount, and your profit all hang off it, so an ARV that is 10% too high can erase the entire margin on a flip.

Use sold properties, not listings

Asking prices are what sellers hope for. Closed sales are what buyers actually paid. Build your ARV from sold comparables and use active listings only as a check on where the market is heading.

What makes a good comp

Sold recently, ideally within the last three to six months.
Close by, typically within half a mile to a mile, and in the same neighborhood or school zone.
Similar size, bedroom and bathroom count, age, lot, and style.
Renovated to roughly the finish level you plan. A dated house is not a comp for your finished flip.

A simple price-per-square-foot ARV

Say your subject is a 1,450 sq ft, three-bedroom house. You find three renovated three-bedroom sales nearby that closed at $210, $225, and $218 per square foot. The average is about $217.67 per square foot.

ARV ≈ average sold price per sq ft × subject square footage

$217.67 × 1,450 ≈ $315,600, so a reasonable ARV is about $315,000. Then adjust for anything the comps have that your property will not, or the reverse: a garage, an extra bathroom, a busy road, a larger lot.

Keep it honest

Throw out outliers: a sale between relatives, a distressed sale, or an unusually large lot.
If your comps span a wide range, use the lower half. Lenders and buyers will.
Write down why you picked each comp. You will need it when you pitch the deal to a buyer or lender.

Wholesale calculator: Enter sold comps to set ARV, then work back to a maximum allowable offer.