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Comparative Market Analysis

Also known as: CMA · Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

An agent opinion of value, prepared from recent comparable sales, to support a listing price. It is not an appraisal: a federally regulated lender will not accept it as the appraisal of record, and only a designated appraiser can produce that.

A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is a written report a REALTOR® licensed by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) prepares for a seller (or prospective seller) to support a recommended listing price. A typical BC CMA includes (a) 3-6 recent comparable sales from the same neighbourhood or submarket, adjusted for square footage / lot size / condition / features / view, (b) the current active listings as a competitive snapshot, (c) recently expired or withdrawn listings as overpricing signals, and (d) the realtor's recommended listing range and pricing strategy.

For sellers, the CMA is the standard pre-listing decision-support document; every credible BC listing strategy starts with one. For buyers, a CMA can be requested by an agent to support offer-strategy benchmarking. Critically, a CMA is NOT an appraisal under the BC Appraisal Institute framework. It does not carry the regulatory standing of a CRA / AACI / RI-designated appraiser's report.

Federally-regulated lenders will not accept a CMA as the appraisal of record; lenders require a fee-paid appraisal from a designated appraiser under the federal Bank Act framework. Use the CMA for pricing strategy; use the appraisal for financing.

Designated Agency — BC's real estate agency model since June 15, 2018: the agency relationship is between the client and the individual licensee, not the brokerage; dual agency is prohibited except in narrow remote-market exceptions.
BC MLS Rules of Cooperation — The rules governing how BC listings are shared between brokerages, and requiring single-agent designated agency in place of dual agency.

@misc{bronsonjob-bc_cma_overview,
  author       = {Job, Bronson},
  title        = {{BC Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) framework}},
  howpublished = {BC Real Estate Codex},
  year         = {2018},
  url          = {https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.cma.overview},
  urldate      = {2026-08-02},
  note         = {Fact ID: bc.cma.overview, version 1.}
}

APA — Press, journalism

Job, B. (2018). BC Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) framework. *BC Real Estate Codex*. Retrieved 2026-08-02, from https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.cma.overview

Plain link — Slack, email, Twitter

BC Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) framework — Bronson Job PREC, BC Real Estate Codex (2026-08-02). https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.cma.overview

Fact id: bc.cma.overview · v1 · machine-readable: /api/v1/facts/by-id/bc.cma.overview.json

License: This definition is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: "Comparative Market Analysis", BC Real Estate Glossary by Bronson Job, https://www.bronsonjob.com/glossary/comparative-market-analysis.

Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR® at Momentum Realty Inc.. GVR Member #6015742 · FVREB Member #FJOBBR

Related terms

See also