Verifying Sale Comps From Recorded Deeds

The problem

An appraisal desk needed sale comps that could be tied back to recorded deeds. Brochure prices and unsigned contracts were not enough. Each candidate sale had to show a filed instrument.

Verification steps

Pull the deed. Confirm grantor, grantee, recording date, and consideration when present. Drop comps without a usable instrument number or with mismatched parcel IDs.

Median $/SF for the surviving set carried sample size and as-of month. Thin slices were withheld rather than forced.

Eleven candidates failed parcel match or lacked a recorded consideration field strong enough to keep. Better to drop them than invent numbers.

Result

37 deed-backed comps retained. Each row cites instrument number and recording date.

This is record verification, not an appraisal opinion.

Checklist used:

• instrument number present on the deed
• parcel ID matches the subject geography
• recording date inside the agreed lookback
• sample size and as-of attached to any median cited

Takeaway

Comps that cannot be opened as deeds do not belong in a filing-backed workbook. Esser Capital Research is not a brokerage.

Source: recorded county deeds. As of September 2025.