If you are wondering how two Los Angeles homes can sell for wildly different amounts and still both be called valid comparables, the short answer is this: a comparable is chosen for its similarity to the subject property in size, condition, lot, and neighborhood, not for how close it lands to the citywide median. In the trailing 12 months, Los Angeles saw 6,806 closed sales with a median sale price of $1,125,000, but the price range stretched from $180,000 to $46,350,000. That enormous spread is exactly why a low-priced sale and a high-priced sale can each be the perfect comp for a different listing.
Appraisers and real estate agents in Los Angeles do not look at the market as one big pool. They narrow the search to the same area, similar square footage, similar lot size, and similar condition. A $180,000 sale matters only if it is comparable to another modest, smaller property in the same pocket of the city. A $46,350,000 sale matters only for a luxury estate with comparable land and build quality. The other 6,804 closings in between are irrelevant unless they share the specific traits of the home being priced.
Consider two homes that closed recently in different parts of Los Angeles. One might have sold for $650,000 because it was a dated, smaller house on a busy street in a less expensive neighborhood. Another in the same city might have sold for $4.2 million because it was a fully renovated, larger home on a private lot in a more sought-after area. Both are reasonable comps for their respective subject properties because each matches its segment. The 51-day average days on market also varies by price tier, with some segments moving faster and others taking longer.
For buyers and sellers in Los Angeles, the takeaway is that you should never judge a specific property's value by the $1,125,000 median or the broad range of sales. Instead, your agent will pull closed sales from the same immediate area with similar characteristics. The median gives a pulse of the overall market, but a comp is a surgical comparison. That is why two sales priced a million dollars apart can both be perfectly defensible comparables in the same city.
The wide price band in Los Angeles is not a flaw in the data; it reflects the diversity of housing stock, from compact condos to sprawling estates. When you work with a local agent who knows the nuances of each pocket, the comps they choose will reflect your specific situation. So the next time you see a low sale and a high sale in the same market report, understand that both may have served as the right comparable for different properties.
Market figures based on 6806 closed MLS sales in Los Angeles, CA over the trailing 12 months.