The Art and Science of a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA)

A Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) is part art and part science.  A CMA is performed when listing a Pinecrest Florida home for sale; it gives the Sellers an idea of what their property should sell for.  The correct listing price is very important. 

A CMA is also used with Buyers when looking at Pinecrest homes for sale.  With the CMA a Buyers is able to submit an educated offer. 

When I start to work on a CMA, I first look at the subject property; the property being listed or purchased.  I look up the tax record to see how many square feet the house has and what size lot it sits on.  As a starting point I will add and subtract 10% of the homes square footage and add and subtract 20% of the lot size; this will give me a range to use when searching for comparable properties.  For example, I am working on a CMA for a Pinecrest home for sale that is 3,639 square feet and sits on a 33,715 square foot lot.  I will add and subtract the above percentages and I will get a range house size of 3,275 - 4,003 square feet and a range lot size of 26,972 - 40,458 square feet.

I can now look at the active Pinecrest homes for sale within this parameter and see who my competition is. I don't put too much weight on these since these quite often are a "wish and a prayer".  But they do give me an idea as to which other Pinecrest homes for sale perspective Buyers will be looking at, how long they have been on the market and what price reductions have been made.

I then examine closely the Pinecrest homes sold within this range - these are the facts!  These are the ones the appraiser will be looking at.  Even though there are several methods an appraiser can use to determine the value of a home, they usually use the comparison approach.  This uses comparable homes sold.  The ideal comparables will be the Pinecrest homes most recently sold and closest to the subject property.

So far this has been the science part; all figures in black and white.  Now comes the art!  This is where the real estate agent needs to know the nuances of the Pinecrest FL real estate market; she needs to have knowledge of the Pinecrest homes sold.  Factors such as the school district, street traffic, orientation, finishes, amenities, floor plan, backyard, roofing materials, maintenance, etc. come into play when making price adjustments.  The lack of intimate knowledge is why automated valuation systems such as Zillow are so often way off the mark; they have never been here, they don’t know the area.

It is so important, whether you´re looking at Pinecrest homes for sale or selling a property in Pinecrest Florida, to work with someone who specializes in the area.  Since I specialize in the Pinecrest Florida real estate market, I only list Pinecrest homes for sale; I stay on top of the Pinecrest Florida real estate inventory.  When I discuss the Pinecrest homes for sale or the Pinecrest homes sold with you, I will most likely have been inside each one of them.