As real estate professionals in Fort Myers, we are always here to help you understand as a buyer how to determine the best value for your investment or as a seller to determine your asking price. We’ll guide you through analyzing a comparative market analysis, known as a CMA. We invite you to reach out to us whenever considering a real estate transaction, with zero obligation!
We’ll be digging into the data found in CMAs and housing reports. First, a real estate professional should compare similar properties that have recently sold in your area, which takes into account any differences in the property. A thorough analysis should also involve a second CMA, on active listings near you.
Understanding CMAs
The highest listing price isn’t always the best listing price! As you may be aware, longer listing periods tend to indicate something is wrong; don’t let it be your asking price. By letting us guide you through the data, you can be certain the asking price is right.
An essential aspect of Comparative Market Analyses (CMAs) is ensuring that the properties compared are those which most closely match your listing in Fort Myers. This involves evaluating various attributes such as location, size, condition, and amenities of the comparable properties to accurately reflect the market value of your property. By selecting properties that are similar in these key aspects, the CMA provides a more precise and realistic estimate, which is crucial for setting the right price, whether you are buying or selling. This meticulous approach helps avoid the pitfalls of overpricing or underpricing, both of which can significantly impact the success of your real estate transaction.
By working with our experienced real estate professionals, you can rely on our word and be assured the numbers are credible. Our team has extensive knowledge of the Fort Myers area and a deep understanding of local market trends, which allows us to select the most relevant comparables for your CMA. We leverage our expertise and the latest market data to provide you with a comprehensive and accurate analysis. This trust in our credibility not only gives you confidence in the pricing strategy but also enhances your overall real estate experience, ensuring that your decisions are well-informed and strategically sound. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or a seasoned investor, our commitment to accuracy and integrity in CMAs is designed to support your goals and facilitate a successful transaction.
Let’s begin by digging into what makes another property contain the right data to be comparable for use in your CMA.
How They Work
What was the sale date? Quite simply, the more recent the sale date, the better. Numbers on sales from even a few months ago could skew your results, especially when the market is changing at a quick pace.
When evaluating the property under consideration, its proximity to comparable properties, or “comps,” is a crucial factor in determining its market value. Ideally, these comps should be within the same neighborhood to ensure that the comparison reflects similar market conditions, amenities, and local trends. This provides a more accurate assessment because properties within the same neighborhood are likely influenced by the same economic factors and community characteristics. However, it is often challenging to find perfect comps within a single neighborhood, especially in areas with limited recent sales or unique property features.
In such cases, the next best approach is to look for comps in the surrounding areas of Fort Myers. These areas should still share some similarities with the neighborhood of the property under consideration, such as similar types of homes, zoning regulations, and overall market dynamics. If suitable comps are still unavailable in nearby areas, it may be necessary to extend the search to more distant regions. These regions should have market conditions that closely resemble those of the property’s location, ensuring that the comparative market analysis (CMA) remains relevant. Although this approach may introduce some variability, it allows for a broader understanding of the property’s value in the context of the larger real estate market, ensuring a well-rounded and informed pricing strategy.
Why was each of the comparables chosen? A deciding factor in the selection of comps is how closely the property matches yours in size, rooms, and amenities. Missing the mark in this process can seriously alter the outcome of your CMA.
Unless you live in a neighborhood where you can’t tell the houses apart, exact comps are very rare. This data is calculated by the current value of each to the overall price point of a home.
How are the comp variable values determined? Considering how rarely duplicate properties are available for comps, it’s important to understand how the values assigned to the differences between the two.
Does the property being considered have a two-car garage, while yours has only a one-car garage? In this event, the difference in value would need to be subtracted. What if there is one bedroom less in the comp property than your home? The value for the additional bedroom would need to be added in order to figure the market value in Fort Myers.
The square footage is only considered at the end of the process, as this number doesn’t truly express the value of what structures and additional amenities are actually found within the given area.
Once all of the differences are added or subtracted from the bottom line, then this figure is divided by the actual square footage, which determines the value per square foot for your home in Fort Myers.
Putting It All Together
Averaging the square foot price from all three, or more, of the properties being used for comparison, gives us the number which is multiplied by the square footage in your home, to determine what your house is worth in Fort Myers.
As real estate professionals, we are experts at digging into the data a CMA provides, we’re on top of current market trends and experienced in determining the right price for the home you are selling or buying.
Equity builds up in a home over time and as real estate professionals, we don’t want to see you lose out on any of your hard-earned dollars. Just as our professionals have built the credibility you can depend on over time in Fort Myers, through education and experience.
If you are considering selling on your own, don’t go it on your own only to find out after the fact that a very similar house in your area sold for much more.
Just as it would be painful for you to learn subsequently that you’ve overpaid, most especially when making what may very well be the largest investment of your life. Why take the risk of making a mistake that could literally cost you thousands in the long run?