What a Real CMA Looks Like
A complete home value report I built for a St. George seller in August 2026, shared with their details removed
If you have ever typed your address into a home value tool, including the one on my own website, you got back a number produced by an algorithm reading public records. Sometimes that number is close. Often it is off by more than you would guess, because the algorithm has never stood in your kitchen, cannot tell a remodeled home from a neglected one, and prices your street from a spreadsheet.
A comparative market analysis, or CMA, is the report a working agent builds by hand: real comparable sales, a line-by-line adjustment for every difference between those homes and yours, and a defended value with the math shown. Below is an actual CMA I delivered to a St. George seller in August 2026. The only changes are that the client's name, their unit number, and their private details have been removed. Every comp, every adjustment, and every conclusion is exactly as delivered.
View or download the sample CMA (PDF)
Eight pages: the bottom line, the home, the street, the evidence, the adjustment grid, the rate schedule, and the reconciled value.
What you are looking at
This analysis covers a cottage in a small St. George community where every comparable sale sits on the same street. The report walks from the conclusion backward: the value and recommended list price up front, then the home itself, then every sale and listing on the street over eighteen months, then the adjustment grid that turns those sales into a value, and finally the rate schedule that explains where every dollar figure came from. Nothing is hidden in a black box. If a line does not sit right, you can question it, and my clients do.
That transparency is the entire difference between a CMA and an online estimate. An algorithm gives you a number. A CMA gives you a number you can defend, to yourself, to a buyer, and to the buyer's appraiser.
Questions sellers ask me about CMAs
How much does a CMA cost?
Nothing. I build a CMA at no cost and with no obligation for any Southern Utah homeowner who asks, because it is the single most useful conversation starter in real estate. Some people list with me afterward, some wait a year, and some just wanted a real number. All three are fine outcomes.
How is a CMA different from an appraisal?
An appraisal is a formal valuation by a licensed appraiser, ordered and paid for during a transaction, and it is the standard a lender relies on. A CMA is an agent's market analysis built for pricing strategy before you list. A good CMA uses the same core method an appraiser uses, comparable sales adjusted line by line, which is why the two frequently land close together. The sample on this page shows that method in full.
How accurate is an online home value estimate?
It depends on your street. On a street of similar homes with recent sales, automated estimates can land within a few percent. On streets with varied homes, few sales, or remodels the county records do not capture, they miss by much more, in either direction. The honest answer is that you cannot know how far off your estimate is without checking it against real comparable sales, which is exactly what a CMA does.
How do I get a CMA for my home?
Text or call me at 435-200-5508, or send me a message here. Tell me the address and anything the county records would not know about, like a remodel or a view. I will build the full report, the same format you see above, and walk you through it. It typically takes me a day.
While you are here
If you are weighing a sale, two other tools on this site earn their keep: the Southern Utah property tax calculator shows what your taxes would look like on the next home, primary or rental or second home, and the power cost calculator compares utility costs across nine local providers. For current market numbers, the St. George market summary is refreshed monthly.
Lance Clifford
Lance Clifford & Associates, KW Ascend Keller Williams
308 W Tabernacle St., St George, UT 84770
435-200-5508