What is a comparative market analysis, and how is a home priced in Dallas-Fort Worth?

• A CMA compares your home with real, recent sales of similar homes in the same area, then adjusts for the differences.
• A CMA is not an appraisal. In Texas, only a licensed or certified appraiser performs an appraisal. A price opinion from a real estate license holder is regulated by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) and has to say it is not an appraisal.
• Your appraisal district value exists for property taxes. It is a useful reference, not the price your home will sell for.
• Automated online estimates never walk through your house. They don't know about the new kitchen or the roof that needs work.
• The right price passes three tests: buyers understand it, the competing homes justify it, and the lender's appraisal can hold it up.

A good CMA is not a single number on a page. It is an organized comparison in three groups, and each group tells you something different.

• Recent sales. Homes like yours that closed recently. This is what buyers actually paid, and it carries the most weight because it is also what the appraiser looks at.
• Active listings. Your competition. A buyer who tours your home tours these too. They don't prove what your home is worth, but they show what you're up against.
• Expired and withdrawn listings. Homes that came off the market without selling. They often teach the most, because they usually mark the price the market refused to pay.

From there, the analysis adjusts. If a sold home has an extra bedroom, a pool or a bigger garage, that gets adjusted. If yours has a remodeled kitchen and theirs doesn't, that too. What's left is a reasonable range, and inside that range, a recommended list price.

1. You tell me about the house. What shows in photos and what doesn't: what you've updated, what still needs work, when the roof or the AC was replaced, anything a buyer is going to ask about.
2. I walk the home. A desk-only analysis gets the most important factor wrong: condition. Seeing the home changes the adjustments.
3. I choose the comparables. Homes close in size, age, bedrooms and baths, as near and as recent as possible. If your property has acreage, a pool or a detached building, the search looks for that, even if it has to reach farther.
4. I make the adjustments. Size, condition, upgrades, lot and extras. Every adjustment gets an explanation. If it can't be explained, it doesn't go in.
5. I check today's competition. What's for sale, in what condition, and what builders nearby are offering. A new build with incentives competes with your home even though it isn't the same product.
6. We sit down with the range and the recommendation. You decide the price. My job is making sure you decide it with the full picture.
7. We tie it to your next home. If you're also buying, the sale price minus your payoff and selling costs tells you what you have for the next step. That piece is covered in what you walk away with when you sell in DFW.

Here's what happens next once the price is set: a buyer makes an offer, the buyer's lender orders an appraisal, and a licensed appraiser values the home for the loan. That's why the CMA has to think about the appraiser from day one.

There are three numbers people mix up, and each one has a different job.

• The comparative market analysis. Your agent prepares it to set a list price. In Texas, a license holder's price opinion is regulated by TREC and must state that it is not the same as an appraiser's opinion of value.
• The appraisal. A licensed or certified appraiser prepares it, usually because the buyer's lender orders it. It follows professional appraisal standards, and it's the number the lender lends against.
• The appraisal district value. Your county appraisal district sets it to levy property taxes. By law it appraises property at market value as of January 1, using mass appraisal across thousands of homes at once. It can land above or below what your home sells for, and if you disagree with it, you have the right to protest.

Here's what that means for you: none of the three replaces the others. The list price is decided with the CMA, tested by the appraisal, and never copied from the tax statement.

• Pricing to what you need instead of what buyers pay. It's human. You know your payoff and what you want for the next house. Buyers don't factor that in. Start with what the market pays, then build the plan around that number.
• Trusting the online estimate. It used to be a rough starting point; now many people treat it as the price. It can't see your new kitchen or your foundation repair. Use it to start the conversation, not to finish it.
• Copying the neighbor's list price. What they asked is not what they got. And their home may have a different condition, lot or floor plan.
• Counting every upgrade dollar as recovered. Some improvements add value, some only help the home sell faster, and some buyers simply won't pay for. The CMA shows which ones count.
• Starting high "to leave room to negotiate." The first weeks bring the most buyer attention. If the price scares them off, the home sits, and a home that sits starts to look like a home with a problem. More on that in selling fast to buy is not selling cheap.

Picture a family in Plano getting ready to sell and move up to a bigger home. They found an online estimate they liked and want to list at that number.

The CMA turns up three similar homes that sold recently nearby. Two have remodeled kitchens; this family's doesn't. There's also an almost identical home that has been sitting on the market at a price close to the online estimate, and one that was withdrawn without selling.

With that on the table, the family sees why the estimate doesn't hold: it wasn't seeing the kitchen, the competition or the home that never sold. They choose a price inside the CMA range, fix two items an inspector would have flagged, and go to market with a number buyers understand and an appraiser can support.

That's an illustration, not a real client. But it's what the work looks like: the price comes from real homes, not from hope.

If you want to see what the analysis would look like for your home, request your home's real value here. It doesn't commit you to selling.

• Your county appraisal district record (Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton or another county). It's a reference, and it shows how your home is described: size, year built, improvements.
• Whether your square footage is recorded correctly. If you added on, confirm the measured size. An old record can throw off the comparisons.
• A dated list of updates. Roof, HVAC, water heater, windows, flooring, with receipts if you have them.
• What an inspector is likely to find. A pre-listing inspection lets you decide ahead of time what to fix and what to disclose. See inspecting before you list.
• Any special district (MUD or PID) or HOA. Buyers ask, and it shapes how they compare your home.
• If you're also buying: the full sell-and-buy plan with dates. Start at sell and buy.

How long does a comparative market analysis take?

It depends on the home. A typical subdivision home with plenty of similar sales goes quickly. A home on acreage, with extra structures or heavy remodeling, takes longer because there are fewer true matches and the adjustments need more thought.

Is a CMA the same as an appraisal?

No. In Texas, an appraisal is done by a licensed or certified appraiser and is the number a lender uses. A CMA is prepared by your agent to set the list price, and a license holder's price opinion has to state that it is not an appraisal.

Why isn't my appraisal district value the price of my home?

The district values thousands of properties at once for tax purposes, as of January 1. It doesn't walk through your home or see its condition. It's a helpful reference, but your list price comes from comparing your home with real sales.

What happens if the buyer's appraisal comes in below the price?

It gets negotiated. The buyer can cover the gap, you can lower the price, you can meet in the middle, or the appraisal can be challenged if it contains errors. A well-supported price from the start makes this less likely.

Does it cost anything to get a CMA?

Requesting your home's real value doesn't commit you to selling. It's the conversation that should happen before any decision.

Before you settle on a price, look at your home with real numbers instead of an online estimate. Get your home's real value, no commitment: veronicayeary.com/home-value. I'll build the analysis from the sales that actually look like your home and walk you through it line by line.

Call or text 469-441-8890 · veronica@veronicayeary.com

Veronica Yeary, Realtor®, CRS · ABR · SRS · CIPS, All City Real Estate DFW.