What, other than Comps, is used to price a home?

[Marty Gold]

A propery in Lancaster county PA is listed for $184,999 and is being rented through June 2018.    This home was purchased as a rental in 2005 for $126,500.   

Other than finding comps (i cannot find 3 within a mile that have the same bed/bath components with similar square feet), what other factors are used to learn the fair price and thus make a fair offer?  Seeing as how the national home market isn't much higher today than it was in the summer of 2005, and that the last owner hasn't made any significant upgrades or improvements, I was shocked to see the 50% jump in price.    I'm new so maybe I'm not looking at this correctly, but isn't it odd to think the market is 50% higher today than a year before the peak of the bubble?

Would anyone use this info as a factor in making an offer or am i best to ignore it and only look for comps?

Any info on doing research to make a fair assessment and thus make a fair offer would be greatly appreciated 

[Michael Seeker]

@Marty Gold - it's anybody's guess as to what is used to come up with a sales price.  There are no rules around how much a property needs to be listed for, so as a seller, I could price a property with a $100K market value at $1M.  It obviously would not sell, but there does not need to be any rhyme or reason behind why I listed my property at that price.  Usually you will see the listed sales price somewhere close to or slightly above the true market value, but I regularly see properties listed 20%, 50% or more above what they are actually worth.  They sit on the market until the seller drops the price.

It sounds like you're actually interested in the market value of a property (not the listing price).  The short answer is that it's worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.  There are many resources and discussions that explain how appraisals are completed when there are limited comps available.  If that is what you're after, check these out:

http://birminghamappraisalblog.com/appraisal/what-does-the-appraiser-do-when-there-are-no-comps/

https://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/How-do-you-accurately-appraise-a-house-that-literally-has-no-comparables-available/377581/

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/88/topics/164916-how-do-you-determine-the-value-on-a-duplex-with-no-comps