Before you agree to a list price for your home in Los Angeles, the single most important thing to ask your agent to show you is a set of at least three to five comparable properties that sold in your immediate neighborhood within the last three months. The median sale price across all of Los Angeles is $1,130,000, but that number is an average across 9,012 closed sales ranging from $120,000 to $130,000,000. That range is so wide that the median tells you almost nothing about what your specific block will support. You need comps that are as close to your home as possible, both in location and in features like square footage, lot size, and condition.
Next, ask your agent to show you the days on market for those comparable sales. The average days on market across Los Angeles is 49 days, but if the comps your agent selected sold in 20 days, that suggests strong demand and possibly room to price higher. If they took 80 days, the market may be slower in your area, and pricing too high could cause your home to sit and eventually sell for less. Ask your agent to highlight the list price versus the sale price for each comparable—that ratio is a direct clue about what pricing strategy worked for homes like yours.
You should also ask to see the active listings that are currently competing with your home. These are not closed sales, but they are the homes buyers will see alongside yours. If three similar homes in your neighborhood are listed at $1.2 million and none have sold in 60 days, that tells you the market may not support that price. Your agent can pull a list of active comparables and show you how many price reductions those listings have had, which is a sign of initial overpricing.
Finally, ask your agent to walk you through a formal comparative market analysis report that includes the adjusted values for each comparable. The agent should explain why each home was chosen and what adjustments were made for differences like an extra bathroom, a remodeled kitchen, or a larger lot. If the agent cannot clearly justify the adjustments, that is a red flag. The goal is not to arrive at a single number but to see a range of supportable values, and then to choose a list price within that range based on your timeline and risk tolerance.
In Los Angeles, where the price range is so extreme, relying on the median or a single comp can lead to a price that is either too high to attract offers or too low to maximize your equity. By asking to see recent neighborhood comps, days on market data, active competition, and a fully adjusted CMA, you will have the information you need to make an informed decision about your list price. Your agent should welcome these questions—a good agent will already have this data prepared before they suggest a price.
Market figures based on 9012 closed MLS sales in Los Angeles, CA over the trailing 12 months.