How to Read a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA)

The following information may be helpful for you to understand the MLS’s output of Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) data. Many people think this section is overkill, but I like to include it anyway. Most MLS systems share the same terminology, so this info will probably relate to your local Realtor Board’s MLS system. The MLS system CMA report format referenced in this article came from the Dallas/Fort Worth area NTREIS MLS.

At the top of each report, the search criteria for this list are printed out in raw data format. Here’s how to interpret it.

Look at the top of each report on the following pages and you’ll see a block of text that looks similar to this:

Your initial search criteria were: ((LISTSTATUS IN ‘ACT’,’CON’,’OPT’,’KO’,’PND’,’EXP’, ‘SLD’,’WTH’,’CAN’,’TOM’,’WS’))) AND (LONGITUDE>=-97.45963275422413 AND LONGITUDE<=-97.28771030913036) AND (LATITUDE>=32.57602990224634 AND LATITUDE<=32.720788050715626) AND (CASE WHEN POWER(69.112822 * ( LATITUDE -32.64840897648098), 2) + POWER(69.112822 * 0.8419968910735207 * (LONGITUDE – – 97.37367153167724) , 2) < POWER(4.99742948094231,2) THEN 1 ELSE 0 END=’1′ ) AND LISTDATE>=CONVERT(DATETIME,’01/01/2008′) AND
PROPSUBTYPE IN (‘S’) AND (S1.FULLNAME LIKE ‘AGENT NAME%’ )

Here’s what each section of the search criteria paragraph means.

((LISTSTATUS IN (‘ACT’,’CON’,’OPT’,’KO’,’PND’,’EXP’,’SLD’,’WTH’,’CAN’,’TOM’,’WS’)))
This means that the search includes all properties with the status of : ACTIVE, ACTIVE CONTRACT, ACTIVE CONTENGENT, ACTIVE OPTION CONTRACT, ACTIVE KICK OUT, PENDING, EXPIRED, SOLD, WITHDRAWN, CANCELLED, TEMPORARILY OFF MARKET, WITHDRAWN SUBLISTING.

(LONGITUDE>=-97.45963275422413 AND LONGITUDE<=-97.28771030913036) AND (LATITUDE>=32.57602990224634 AND LATITUDE<=32.720788050715626)
AND (CASE WHEN POWER(69.112822 * ( LATITUDE -32.64840897648098), 2) + POWER(69.112822 * 0.8419968910735207 * (LONGITUDE – -97.37367153167724) , 2) < POWER(4.99742948094231,2) THEN 1 ELSE 0 END=’1′ ) This section of the criteria is the geographic area of the search. It is usually a 5-mile radius around your house. If it isn’t listed then the search is for the entire DFW area covered by MLS. LISTDATE>=CONVERT(DATETIME,’01/01/2008′)
This is the date range and it means all records from this date to the date the search was run.

PROPSUBTYPE IN (‘S’) AND (S1.FULLNAME LIKE ‘AGENT NAME%’ )
This item limits the data to only houses listed by the named agent.

The Status of Each Property is defined by the Dallas/Ft Worth MLS system as:
ACT – Active – Property is available for sale (showings).

CON – Active-Contingent – Property has an offer on it but there is a contingency (i.e. financing, inspections) – still taking showings.

OPT – Active-Option Contract – Property has an offer on it that has an option period – still taking showings.

KO – Active-Kick Out – Property has an offer contingent upon the sale of another property.

PND – Pending – Property has an offer (contract with to contingencies, kick-outs or options) – no more showings. Pending listings do not expire, they will stay pending until closed.

EXP – Expired

SLD – Sold

LSD – Leased

WTH – Withdrawn – No longer available for showings or available to be re-listed with another broker (under “conditional release”).

CAN – Cancelled – Unconditional release – free to be re-listed in MLS.

TOM – Temp Off Market –Owner has a reason they would not like to show the property for a period of time but they are still under a listing agreement. Temporarily off market used for various reasons (i.e. remodeling, owner illness, etc.)

WS – Withdrawn Sub Listing – Under the sub-divided listing function, you can have a main listing with several sub listings….withdrawn sub listing would mean the sub listing is no longer available on its own.

When you use a CMA for the purpose of comparing agents, remember that you are not concerned with pricing. This data can not be used to determine a sale price for your house. Without closely analyzing your house, comparable houses or the neighborhood, an accurate price can not be obtained. Your agent will conduct that study and explain the results.