Four checks, in order of how much they tell you — and one measure buyers rely on far too heavily.
What have genuinely similar homes actually sold for — not listed for — recently and nearby? Similar means comparable in type, size, age, condition, and situation. A renovated bungalow backing green space is not comparable to an original bungalow backing an alley, even on the same street.
Recent matters: in a moving market, sales more than about three months old need interpreting rather than accepting. Sold prices require a free registered account to view, under Alberta's rules for MLS® data.
A home sitting well beyond the typical pace for its segment usually has a price problem — buyers are seeing it and declining. The complication is that cancelling and relisting starts a fresh count, so the visible number can understate how long a property has really been available. The full history is visible to a REALTOR®, and it is worth asking for before you make an offer.
It is a reasonable sanity check between very similar properties. It becomes misleading fast, because it ignores lot size, finished basement space, garage, condition, age and location. A small home has a higher price per square foot almost by definition, since kitchens and bathrooms cost the same regardless of house size.
Price per square foot is a useful tiebreaker between two similar homes on the same street. It is a poor way to compare a bungalow to a two-storey, or an inner-city infill to a suburban home, and buyers who lean on it in those situations reach confident wrong conclusions.
Price reductions and their timing, previous listings at other prices, a deal that collapsed and why, how long the seller has owned it, and whether the home is vacant. These do not appear in the public listing but shape both what the home is worth and how a seller will respond to an offer. If your REALTOR® has not looked at them before you write, ask.