No, readers it does not mean the Country Music Awards.

A CMA is the best method for a home seller to find out how much their home is worth and what people are willing to pay for it. Today people can go on the internet and find out how much anything is worth. You can than set a price that buyers will find attractive. This is all pretty simple and requires very little pricing expertise.

Selling your home is just not that simple. Online homes sites are fun to play with, but they are based on past sales, not current market factors. Houses are very hard to compare.

The best method available to home sellers to know what the value of their home is to have a Realtor do a CMA (COMPARABLE MARKET ANALYSIS).The Realtor will do an in-depth analysis and will produce your home’s worth in today’s market.

When thinking of selling your home, call an experienced Realtor and ask them to do a CMA. They will compare your home accordingly. What is the square footage, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in your home, acreage, the community, water frontage and even the depth of the water. There are many other factors that will come into play to arrive at a fair price.

Preparing a CMA:

First: The agent will ask to walk through your home. Remember, your home does not have to be in perfect condition. However, we always tell our clients that you should think of Royalty coming to stay at you home. Make sure that you have everything repaired and if it needs a little facelift, by all means invest. You will get top dollar if you have your home in pristine condition. No one wants surprises after the inspection is done. After all, you have already decided on the final selling price. Sometimes the agent will recommend improvements. Please take her recommendations as not being critical but offering her professional advice.

Second:The agent will get her information from going into the Multiple Listing Service and doing their research. This will include:

Active Listings- Properties that are currently on the market.

Pending Sales-Properties that have sold but have not yet closed.

Expired Listings-Properties that did not sell during the listing period.

And most importantly all homes that have sold in your area within the last 12 months.

We like to take time to do our research and get back to our clients in a few days. We will then meet with them and present to them our price and how we arrived at it. Remember, Realtors are not appraisers. However, they many times will give you a price range rather than a set price. This is your home, and we always try to accommodate the seller. Many times, an agent may think the price is a little high, but they will always try to get you the price and if it doesn’t sell it may need to be reduced.

PRICE IS EVERYTHING.Pricing your home incorrectly could cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Having a Real Estate professional do a CMA, Comparative Market Analysis will ensure you that you will get top dollar for your beautiful home.

And here’s the good part. There is NO CHARGE to have an agent do a CMA.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:The optimist goes to the window every morning and says, “Good Morning, God.” The pessimist goes to the window and says, “Good God, Morning.”