A good comparative market analysis should include recent closed sales of truly similar homes, adjusted for differences in size, lot, condition, location and features, plus active, pending and expired listings, list-to-sale price ratios, days on market and current absorption. It should end in a supported price range, not a single number, with the reasoning written down.
Most sellers and many buyers see a comparative market analysis, or CMA, before they make a pricing decision. Few are told what data should be in it. At The Agency Dallas, a CMA is the working document behind every list price and every offer we help write, and what data a good comparative market analysis should include is a fair question for anyone relying on one.
What is a comparative market analysis, and how is it different from an appraisal?
A CMA is a broker's analysis of market value built from comparable sales and current competition. It is not an appraisal, which is performed by a licensed appraiser, usually for a lender, under appraisal standards. It is also different from a broker price opinion, which Texas regulates separately. Our post on the difference between a CMA, a broker price opinion and an appraisal in Texas covers the distinctions.
The market a CMA describes keeps moving. In the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro, the median sale price was $380,000 in the first quarter of 2026, down 2.8% from a year earlier, while active listings rose 3.6% to 30,767 and inventory reached 4.0 months (Texas Realtors, Q1 2026 Texas Quarterly Housing Report). In a market with more choice for buyers, a CMA that leans only on last year's top sales will overprice a home.
What data should a good comparative market analysis include?
Here is the data set we expect to see in any CMA, whether we prepared it or are reviewing one for a client:
- Closed comparable sales. Usually three to six, ideally from the last three to six months, from the same neighborhood or a directly competitive one, with similar size, age, lot and style.
- Adjustments. Explicit dollar or percentage adjustments for differences in living area, lot size, bedrooms and baths, garage, pool, condition, updates and location within the neighborhood.
- Pending sales. Homes under contract show where buyers are committing right now, even before the final price is public.
- Active listings. The current competition, which is what a buyer will compare your home against on the day it lists.
- Expired and withdrawn listings. These show where the market said no, which is as useful as where it said yes.
- List-to-sale price ratio and days on market for the comparables and the neighborhood.
- Absorption or months of supply for the price band and area.
- Price per square foot, used as a check, not as the method.
- Property-specific factors such as school attendance zone, HOA dues and assessments, MUD or PID costs, flood zone and lot orientation.
- A written conclusion with a price range and the reasoning for where the home should sit within it.
How should comparables be selected?
The best comparable is the home a buyer would have bought instead. That usually means the same attendance zone, the same side of a major road, a similar lot and a similar level of finish. A CMA that pulls the highest sales from a wider radius to support a number is a marketing piece. When we prepare a CMA at The Agency Dallas, we document why each comparable was included and why near-misses were left out.
How do adjustments work in a CMA?
Adjustments bring each comparable in line with the subject property. If a comparable has a pool and the subject does not, the comparable's price is adjusted down by what the market pays for a pool in that neighborhood. If the subject has a larger lot, the comparable is adjusted up. The adjustments should come from local evidence, such as paired sales, not from a national rule of thumb. The steps we follow are:
- Inspect the subject home, or review detailed photos and a feature list, so condition and updates are captured accurately.
- Select closed comparables and note every material difference from the subject.
- Assign adjustments supported by local sales evidence and show them line by line.
- Weight the adjusted comparables, giving the most weight to the most similar and most recent.
- Test the result against pending and active competition and against neighborhood days on market.
- State a range and a recommended list or offer price, with the risks on each side.
How do I know if a CMA is accurate?
Read it the way a skeptical buyer's agent would. Are the comparables truly similar? Are adjustments shown, or only a final number? Does it account for current listings that compete directly? Does it acknowledge expired listings? Our post on how to tell if a Dallas home valuation is accurate goes further, including how to compare a CMA against an automated estimate.
When should a seller or buyer ask for a CMA?
- Sellers should ask for one before choosing a list price and again if a home has been on the market long enough for the competition to change.
- Buyers should ask for one before writing an offer, especially in neighborhoods with few recent sales.
- Owners not yet selling can request one to track equity or plan a renovation. Our home valuation page is the place to start.
- Relocating buyers unfamiliar with Texas pricing should treat a CMA as essential. See what out-of-state buyers should know before buying a home in Texas.
Two factors in North Texas deserve special attention in any CMA. School zones can create price breaks between otherwise similar streets; see which Dallas suburbs have the best schools for homebuyers. Ongoing costs such as HOA dues, MUD taxes and PID assessments also change what buyers will pay; see what to know about HOA communities before buying in DFW. A CMA from The Agency Dallas includes both, because the data a good comparative market analysis should include is the data a buyer will weigh anyway.
If you are weighing a sale, The Agency Dallas can prepare a home valuation for your address, or you can reach our team through our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
How many comparables should a CMA include?
Most well-built CMAs rely on three to six closed sales that are genuinely similar to the subject home, supported by pending, active and expired listings. Fewer strong comparables are better than many weak ones. In neighborhoods with few recent sales, the analysis should explain how it widened the search by time or area.
How recent should comparable sales be in a CMA?
Ideally within the last three to six months. When the market is shifting, more recent sales and current pending contracts deserve more weight. If older sales are used because the area is thin, the CMA should adjust for market change since those sales closed and explain how that adjustment was made.
Is a CMA the same as an appraisal?
No. A CMA is a broker's market analysis used to set a list price or plan an offer. An appraisal is prepared by a licensed appraiser, usually for a lender, under appraisal standards. Both use comparable sales, but they serve different purposes and the appraisal is what a mortgage lender relies on.
Why does a CMA include expired listings?
Expired and withdrawn listings show prices the market rejected. If several similar homes failed to sell at a certain level, that is strong evidence about the ceiling for the subject home. Leaving them out makes a CMA look more optimistic than the market, which is a common reason homes sit and later reduce price.
Should price per square foot decide my home's value?
Price per square foot is a useful check, but it should not be the method. Lot size, location within the neighborhood, condition, updates and features all move value independently of square footage. A good CMA adjusts for those differences directly and then uses price per square foot to confirm the result is reasonable.
Sources: Texas Realtors Q1 2026 Texas Quarterly Housing Report.
