Comparative Market Analysis

A comparative market analysis, often called a CMA, is a report that estimates the value of a home by looking at what comparable homes nearby have sold for. It is the method agents use to help sellers set a list price and to help buyers decide what to offer.

As your agent, Henos Adhana prepares a comparative market analysis in Seattle by studying homes like yours that recently sold, that are listed now, and that were listed but did not sell. Each group tells you something different about where your price should land.

Unlike an automated online estimate, a CMA accounts for what a computer cannot see: your floor plan, condition, updates, lot, view, and exactly where you sit within a neighborhood. In a market as block-by-block as Seattle, those differences matter.

What goes into your CMA

The analysis starts with recent sales of homes like yours in location, square footage, bedrooms and bathrooms, lot size, age and condition. The newest and most similar sales count most. It then adjusts for the ways your home differs from each one, so a finished basement or a newer kitchen is reflected in the estimate.

Active listings show what you would compete against today, and expired or withdrawn listings show prices buyers were not willing to pay. Together they give you a realistic range rather than a single guess.

Reading the market around your home

A CMA also reads the market your home sits in. How many homes are for sale? How long do they take to sell? Do they sell above or below list price, and how are those numbers moving month to month? Houses, townhomes and condos each respond differently, so the analysis follows your type of home.

As of September 2026, the NWMLS reported King County's median sale price at $850,000, unchanged from a year earlier. King County had 4.70 months of inventory, meaning current listings would take almost five months to sell at the current pace. Across the whole NWMLS area, 4.44 months of inventory was the highest since February 2014, with 24,965 active listings, up 24.5% from a year before. When more homes compete for the same buyers, a price from last spring can be the wrong price today, so the CMA uses the latest sales.

Sources: NWMLS, September 2026 market report (published October 6, 2026)

Why a local read beats an online estimate

Values here shift over short distances. A home in Ballard, Queen Anne or Green Lake can price very differently from one a few blocks away. The school, the view, the slope of the street or the era it was built can all change the number. The Eastside and the north-end suburbs vary in their own ways.

Automated tools work from broad public data and formulas. They cannot see inside your home, so they often miss a recent remodel, deferred maintenance or the feel of a particular street. Henos works these areas directly, so the comparables in your report reflect the pockets buyers actually shop.

CMA, appraisal and assessed value

Three numbers get mixed up. As of October 2026, Washington law defines a comparative market analysis as a broker's price opinion, a report of value prepared by a licensed real estate broker. A broker may be paid for one, but it may not be used as an appraisal in a federally related transaction.

An appraisal is a formal valuation. Under the same law, only a state-certified or state-licensed appraiser may be paid to do one. Lenders usually order one before they make a loan.

Your assessed value comes from the county assessor. State law has the assessor value property at 100% of its true and fair value as of January 1 of the year it is assessed. By the time you read that notice, the date behind it can be many months old, so it is a weak guide to today's price.

Sources: RCW 18.140.010, definitions, RCW 18.140.020, who may appraise, RCW 84.40.020, assessment date, RCW 84.40.030, basis of valuation

How you can use it

If you are selling, the CMA is the base for a list price that draws interest without leaving money on the table. If you are buying, it helps you frame an offer grounded in evidence rather than emotion. If you are not ready to do either, it helps you plan improvements or time a move.

You share a few details about your home and any recent updates. Henos reviews the comparable sales and current listings, then walks you through how the range was reached, not just what it is. There is no obligation attached.

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