Too few real estate agents appreciate how important a comparative market analysis (CMA) is.

The CMA is not only one of your core responsibilities as a real estate agent when serving either sellers or buyers. It is also the most visible representation of you and your brand to sellers. A great CMA will both win more listings and better serve home buyers.

When a potential client has interviewed multiple agents, how will your dated, incomplete, ugly CMA compare to the sleek and informative packet the other agents left behind during their listing presentation? Your CMA can easily be the difference between getting and losing the listing.

That’s why it surprises me that there aren’t more contenders in the real estate CMA software niche. The below options don’t even have 100% MLS coverage. I don’t know what most agents do for their CMAs, but I know this is a major place you can up your game and really stand out from the competition.

Read below about the best CMA software options available!

The Contenders

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Not Included Here

Many MLS providers have a basic, free CMA tool.

Different MLSs have their strengths and weaknesses here, but I’ve generally found MLS CMAs ugly and inefficient.

This list also doesn’t include the proprietary CMA software that institutional investors develop for their acquisitions teams, like Opendoor or Invitation Homes, nor mass appraisal software used by lenders or other companies.

Lastly, it’s not too hard to DIY your CMA. Being an analytical C on the DISC scale, my personal preference has been to use Excel and pdfs and give only the most relevant information to my clients via MLS displays and printouts.

What to Look for in CMA Software

Availability

Any residential real estate software, at a minimum, must have access to your local MLS data. Not all CMA software has relationships with every MLS, so your options may be limited based on your local market.

Adjustments

When creating a CMA, you will want to make adjustments to comparable homes versus the subject’s property data.

Common adjustments include square footage, number of bedrooms, acreage, flooring type, and more. Making adjustments are essential for a solid listing price and ensuring you are neither overpromising nor underpromising on the home valuation.

A CMA software that lets you easily create the adjustments you need for your market is important, though none of the current options do this as well or easily as I would like.

Reports

The CMA reports are what sell you as an agent. You want reports that you can customize to your brand, reinforcing your subject matter expertise as a forward-thinking and tech-savvy real estate professional.

Most CMA software has templated content like neighborhood trends, heat maps, or property flyers that can quickly make a CMA dozens or even hundreds of pages long. You want to be selective about what you include so that your clients aren’t overwhelmed with information or data.

And only include content that you can explain. Don’t know what absorption rates are? Don’t invite your seller to ask by including the CMA’s absorption rate graphs.

Also, don’t forget the homes that are not in your CMA, or among the comparables you’ve chosen. Homes that haven’t sold, weren’t comparable, or were withdrawn/expired, can tell you as much about a market as a home that did sell. And it’s also handy to have that information on hand when your seller asks “what about the home across the street? Their yard sign was gone in a week!” You can explain that no, it didn’t sell, but rented, or whatever the case may be.

Interconnectivity

Can you send your report directly to your clients’ email? Scroll through on the tablet? Does it pull in third-party information like schools, crime rates, and more?

Some software has additional features like creating property reports for a potential buyer, flyers, or more.

Conclusion

Even the best CMA software is not necessary for a new agent trying to save some money. Be conscious of your spending.

But when you are ready to go to the next level in your business and are doing at least a few million a year in sales, CMA software is worthy of consideration.

Use free RPR software at a minimum if you are using nothing else. Or better yet, if your brokerage provides a CMA tool, use it!

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