Getting local comparable prices

[nubiwan]

Are there any services in Canada that enable an investor to get a list of comparable sales in a given geographical area? That is, without having to trouble a real estate agent. The majority of my RE dealings are private, so I never really deal with agents. I can get an appraisal done, but I'd be just as happy knowing what similar aged/sized houses sold for in the past 6 months in my area. Save myself the $450 appraisal fee.



I did find an online resource "zoocasa" that claims to give accurate house prices fo Canada, but for the home I am looking at, plus my personal residence, the estimates it returned looked like they were inflated. For example, I recently had my own house appraised at $340K in the last 12 months. I am pretty sure I can get in the higher $380 range for it, but the online estimate was a rather ridiculous $520K.



Is there not a Freedom of Information act surrounding access to real estate sales? Should I not be able to ask someone, perhaps the local RE association, and get a list of recent sales prices, without having to engage an agent, or feel like I am being a pain in the a$$ to them.



I mean, I'd be willing to pay an agent a small fee ($20-30) to give me the data he/she can pull up in 5 minutes. Where can I get this info?



Cheers

Tony

 

[Thomas Beyer]

Titles are online in many provinces and you can get each title usually for around $5 if you have an online account. This assumes a very narrow range of houses, say 45-51ABC Street, and it assumes you know the properties are comparable. It shows transaction price and mortgage usually, but nothing about the state of the property.



And yes, it helps to have a realtor friend or 3 and pay them some consulting from time to time.