Comparative Market Anaysis (CMA)

The best method available to home sellers to learn their home's current value so they can select the best sale price is a CMA

Everyone who has ever sold a car knows they have to first find out how much it is worth and what people are willing to pay for it. It's easy to gather the information you need to set a price from newspapers, the Blue Book, or online used car sales sites. When you've gathered this information you can then set a price that potential buyers will find attractive. It's really pretty simple and requires very little pricing expertise.

If you want to sell your home, it's not so easy and it's certainly not simple. The value of your home is much more difficult to predict and the information available to home sellers can be untrustworthy. Online home valuation sites are fun to play with, but they are based on past sales, not current market factors. Newspaper listings give you some information, but houses are usually so different that it's hard to compare.

The best method available to home sellers to learn their home's current value so they can select the best sale price is a CMA, or Comparative Market Analysis. CMA is the term real estate agents use when they conduct an in-depth analysis of a home's worth in today's market.

How is a CMA prepared?

First, we like to walk through your home. The home does not have to be in perfect condition. However, property condition does affect price, so if you plan to do work on the property, let us know.

Second, the agent will research information about comparable properties in the area, usually using a real estate industry resource called the Multiple Listing Service. This includes:
Properties that have sold and closed within the last 12 months or sooner
Active listings - properties currently for sale
Pending sales - listings that have sold but not yet closed
Expired listings - properties that did not sell during the listing period
Lastly, we will suggest a probable selling price or possibly a price range.

What can you expect to see in a CMA?

A completed CMA is presented in the form of a report, which includes the selling price, detailed information about your home, and the comparable properties that were researched to determine its value. Because the price derived from a CMA is somewhat subjective, some agents may include brief statements on the perceived selling points your home.

When selling your car, an incorrect price might cost you a few hundred dollars. If you set the wrong price for your home, you could lose tens of thousands of dollars. To give you a more accurate CMA, we typically like to visit your home first.