Comparable Market Analysis (CMA)
A CMA (also called Comparative Market Analysis) is intended to assist you in determining a fair market price to list your property. For most homes our free CMA will be quite enough to allow you to select the proper list price. Our CMA includes research of the last 6 months (or more) of actual sales in the area and their days on the market, research of the last 6 months of "Expired" listings (to help determine which list prices were too high), and finally research of other currently active listings that will be your direct competition for purchasers. Research will also include data from county tax records and pricing trends for the local market. This information all compiled will help to complete your understanding of the current market as it affects your home.
On unique properties (with too few, if any, similar properties to compare with) it may be necessary to get a full fledged appraisal of "Fair Market Value" completed before marketing the home. The "Fair Market Value" appraisal is different than other appraisals (such as a refinancing appraisal). "Fair market value" is what an actual buyer may be willing to pay for your property, in its current condition, within 30-90 days in the current market. A professional licensed appraiser can come very close to predicting the true market value of any house, but appraisal of real estate is still more of an art than a science. An appraisal is only an opinion, an educated guess. Since an appraisal can cost the seller $300 or more, on those properties that DO have many similar comparables, the seller will often decide to avoid that cost and use an agent's CMA to determine their list price.
