A Comparative Market Analysis is an informal assessment of a property's market value, usually done to establish a reasonable listing price when a property is placed for sale.

The price is established by comparing the property to similar properties that have sold in the area within the past year. The analysis is normally done by a real estate agent who has access to area sales records. Although it's more time-consuming, sellers in the US can find the same information by visiting their county courthouse.

To get a complete picture of your local marketplace, the CMA should include information about currently available comparable listings, pending sales, sales that occurred within the last 6 months, as well as information about listings that did not sell during the listing period. These are called expired listings.

For sellers, the currently available listings would be your competition if your home were on the market. How you price your home relative to the competition is critical to the success for your marketing efforts. If possible, visit Sunday open houses to see how your home compares before you select a list price.

Pending sale listings in your neighborhood represent the most recent sales activity. Try to find out as much about these listings as possible. Beware of the neighborhood grapevine. A combination of wishful thinking and enthusiasm can result in a rumor that a listing sold for an inflated price. The actual sale price may be quite a bit lower. And, that price may not be made public until the sale closes.

Even before you have the closing price, inferences can be made about the selling price based on the market history of the listing. Find out how long it took to find a buyer for the home. Were there multiple offers? Or, did the listing take months to sell? Did the sellers have to lower their price to attract a buyer? This sort of information tells you a lot about the current market conditions.