When you are ready to sell your house in Locust Grove or elsewhere, one of the first steps is to determine how much it is worth.  As a REALTOR®, I create a comparative market analysis or CMA to determine what the market value of a home is.  Any REALTOR® that you meet with should arrive with one for you to examine during a listing meeting.  But, what exactly is a CMA?  Let’s find out!

What is a CMA?

A comparative market analysis is a report completed by a REALTOR® to determine the market value of a home.  It examines the features of your home, condition, square footage, lot size, and age as well as other homes in the neighborhood of similar type.

Your REALTOR® will use this information to suggest a listing price for your house in Locust Grove.

Ready to find out how much your home in Locust Grove is worth? You can start the CMA process here! I will contact you to find out a few more details about your home so I can give you the most accurate pricing, but I won’t pressure you!

How do agents pick comparable homes for a CMA?

REALTORS® use at least three homes that have sold in the last three months that are similar to the sellers homes.  Sometimes, depending on market conditions and the uniqueness of a property, agents may have to go back six months.  Preferably a REALTOR® will find three similar homes in your neighborhood to compare; the further out the search extendents the less comparable the homes are.

What makes a home a comparable?

Real estate agents want to select homes that are the most similar to your home in order to determine accurate pricing.  Some similar factors REALTORS® are looking for include:

  • Square footage of livable space
  • Number of bedrooms
  • Number of bathrooms
  • Lot size
  • Special features (garages, pools, workshops, ect.)
  • Age and condition of home
  • Recently sold
  • Location

Since the real estate market is fluid, it is important to compare your house in Locust Grove to one that has recently sold and not one from a previous year. In a year, home prices change. Location is also important because homes may have different values based on the location.

How do REALTORS® determine a listing price when using a CMA?

With the information from comparables and your home, a REALTOR® can determine a market value list price.  They may add or subtract value based on the similarities or differences in a comparable.  For example, a home with the same floor plan as yours with an unfinished basement in your neighborhood is a comparable property.  However, your home has a finished basement, so the real estate agent will add some value to your list price for the basement.

Your personal goals and current market conditions may also impact the list price of your home.  For example, if you need to move quickly, then pricing your home slightly under market value will aid it a faster seller.  

All of this information from the CMA along with your own goals will determine the listing price for your house in Locust Grove.

CMA are also only accurate for a short amount of time. Since the market changes, the listing price of your home today could be different than six months from now. If you have some time between when you met with an agent and when you decide to sell, then ask the REALTOR® for an updated CMA.