Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

Definition of "Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)"

Alan Wilson real estate agent

Written by

Alan Wilsonelite badge icon

Olde Town Realty

That’s the name of the study a Real Estate Broker presents to home sellers when trying to turn them into clients. In it, by making a comparison with the available houses in the market - and how much they are asking for - the homeowner gets to find out what their asking price should be.

The comparative market analysis (CMA) can span from two-pages to a hundred; it depends on how thorough and comprehensive the analysis is, and how complex is the house (or the market) in question. More and more comparative market analysis (CMA)  are generated in specialized software that cross-references data from several sources of recent sales in specific markets, showing days on the market, average sales price, local minimum and maximum sales prices, the reasons why some houses did or didn’t sell, and even information like the best time to sell a property in that region.

Making a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) can be quite toilsome. The reason why Brokers and Real Estate Agents do all this work of suggesting a sales price, explaining the reasons behind it and even including a marketing plan to sell the house is to convince the homeowner to list the house with them. To show they know how the market behaves and will be the best person for the seller to trust the house with.

If you’re a home seller, it is important for you to ask Comparative Market Analysis to more than one broker or agent. Results may vary, and you want to make your own comparison between what is presented you. Don’t necessarily go for the broker that priced your home the highest; weeks after you sign a contract they may come with new more realistic calculations.

Real Estate Advice:

You haven’t gotten a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) yet? Call one of our real estate agents and ask them to make you one!

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

A way to sell and finance property by which the seller keeps title but the buyer takes possession while installment payments are being made. The gain is taxed while the mortgage ...

Loan guaranty program included in the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. Its provisions cover the compensation to lenders for losses they might sustain in providing financing to ...

Building with large unpartitioned floors areas often used for storage. ...

A capitalized expenditure usually extending the useful life of a building or improving it in some manner over and above the original condition. In contrast, a maintenance or repair expense ...

To understand what a principal broker is, we have to go back up the family tree of real estate.You do understand all brokers can be real estate agents, but not every real estate agent can ...

A loan indemnified against default by the borrower. Such loans may be a mortgage loan insured by a standard mortgage insurance policy or by FHA mortgage insurance. In the event of the death ...

Map presented to a municipality's planning agency by a real estate developer for consideration and approval. ...

An agreement specified in the lease providing the tenant the option to renew the lease for a given time period upon the expiration of the initial lease. Most lease options include the ...

Periodic expenditures undertaken to preserve or retain a property's operational status for its originally intended use. These expenditures do not improve or extend the life of the property. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions