What Is a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis)? How Agents Estimate a Home’s Value
A CMA isn’t a bank appraisal, and it isn’t your MPAC assessment. It is the most important homework behind any list price or offer.
What is a CMA, and how is it different from a bank appraisal or MPAC assessment?
A CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) is how a real estate agent estimates a home’s current market value using recent, comparable, actual sales. It is not a bank’s formal appraisal, and it is not the MPAC assessment used to calculate property tax — the three have different purposes and different bases. The heart of a CMA: find the homes most like yours that recently sold, then adjust for the differences to arrive at a reasonable value range.
Based on the standard comparative market analysis (CMA) methodology
Whether you are pricing a home to sell or deciding what to offer, there should be a CMA underneath the decision. Many people confuse it with a bank appraisal or a property-tax assessment — but those are three different things. This article explains, simply, how a CMA is built, what data it relies on, and which questions it can’t answer.
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Step 1: Select genuinely comparable sales
Step 2: Line up the key differences
Step 3: Make the adjustments
ℹ️Be wary of a CMA built only on asking prices. A real CMA is anchored on actual sold prices. If someone hands you a stack of active, unsold listings to compare against, that reflects sellers’ hopes, not what the market is willing to pay.
Step 4: Arrive at a value range
What a CMA does not replace
A CMA is an agent’s professional judgment — it is not a bank’s formal appraisal. When you finance, the lender sends its own appraiser, and the conclusion can differ. It is also not the MPAC assessment, which is used to calculate property tax and whose valuation date is still frozen at 2016. Use a CMA for buy/sell decisions, the bank appraisal for financing, and MPAC for tax — don’t mix them up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a CMA free?
Usually. Preparing a CMA for a seller or buyer is part of an agent’s service and isn’t typically billed separately. It is the homework behind your pricing or offer decision.
Is the CMA the exact price my home will sell for?
No. A CMA gives a reasonable value range based on comparable sales; the final price is still shaped by pricing strategy, buyer competition, timing, and market conditions. Be wary of anyone calling a CMA a guaranteed sale price.
If the CMA and the bank appraisal disagree, which one wins?
It depends on the use. For setting a list price or an offer, use the CMA; for a mortgage, the lender relies on its own appraiser. They have different bases and purposes, so differences are normal and handled separately.
Do buyers need a CMA too?
Yes. Reviewing a CMA before offering helps you judge whether the asking price is fair, what to offer, and where your ceiling is in a competing-offer situation — so you don’t chase a price on emotion.
Arthur Zhao
Real Estate Broker · FRI · ABR · SRS · PSA · MCNE · E-PRO · CLHMS & GUILD Elite · REAIS
VP & Branch Manager, Bay Street Group Inc.
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