What is a CMA?
A CMA is a report provided by your real estate agent that provides a recap of housing activity in the general area. A CMA typically consists of at least 4 homes that are similar in size and attributes. These attributes consist of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, and age. Ordinarily a CMA will provide you with comparable homes that have already sold in the area. Occasionally when there is not enough historical data available, the report may include homes that are under contract but not yet closed, and in rare cases, homes which are currently on the market. The most accurate reports will consist of only homes which have sold in the area. It's common for a real estate agent to list a home slightly higher than the actual value to leave some space for negotiations. This can result in inflated home values in the report if homes currently on the market are included.
Many real estate agents will provide a price range on the CMA because some factors such as a view or other special features cannot be accounted for easily. In general a CMA is a fairly comprehensive guide for a home's value.
Subsequently, a CMA can be obtained to determine the value of a home on the market. This can be an excellent negotiating tool for those unfamiliar with the selling price of homes in the general area.
So where can you get a CMA? While you can get automated home evaluation data on the internet, the data provided can drastically differ from your home's actual value. Only a real estate agent can provide you with an accurate estimate since they are familiar with the area. Best of all - a real estate agent will normally provide this report to you free of charge.
Please contact us if you need this information on your home.
|