A CMA is a comparative market analysis, a price range an agent builds by studying recent comparable sales and the homes you would actually be competing against. A Zestimate is an automated number produced by software reading public records. Both give you a figure, but only one of them has been inside your house.
What a CMA actually is
A real CMA is built from a specific set of properties, not a formula.
- Recently closed sales of similar homes, usually within the last three to six months
- Homes currently active, because those are what a buyer sees next to yours
- Homes that went under contract recently, which show what buyers are agreeing to right now instead of months ago
- Listings that expired without selling, which tend to mark the ceiling
- Adjustments for square footage, lot size, condition, upgrades, and whether there is a pool
A CMA is not an appraisal. An appraisal is a formal opinion of value from a licensed appraiser, ordered by the lender after a contract is signed. A CMA is a pricing tool you use before you list.
Where a Zestimate gets its number
Nevada records a Declaration of Value with every deed, so sale prices here become part of the public record. That means Zestimates in Clark County do have real sale data behind them, which is exactly why people assume the number is firmer than it is.
Zillow publishes its own accuracy, and it is worth reading closely. Nationally, the median error is roughly 2 percent for homes actively listed for sale and roughly 7 percent for homes that are not on the market. Two things matter in that sentence. Your home is off market right now, so the larger number is the one that applies to you. And median means half of all estimates miss by more than that.
On a $450,000 home, a 7 percent miss is a little over $31,000 in either direction. Half the time it is worse than that.
What the software cannot see
- Condition. An original 1990s kitchen and a full remodel look identical in public records
- Pool condition. Recently resurfaced, working equipment, or sitting green all read the same to a computer
- Floor plan. Two homes in the same subdivision with matching square footage can live completely differently
- Lot position and how much usable yard is left once the pool is in
- Solar. Owned versus leased changes what a buyer will pay, and sometimes whether they will buy at all
- Roof age, HVAC age, and anything deferred
How to read a CMA you are handed
- Ask which specific properties were used as comps, and why those
- Ask what was adjusted and by how much
- Ask whether pending sales were included, not just closed ones
- Ask what the plan is if it does not sell in the first 30 days
A CMA that is just a number with no properties attached to it is not a CMA. It is an opinion with a cover page.
Simple summary
A CMA is a price range built from actual comparable properties by somebody who has walked through homes like yours. A Zestimate is an automated estimate, and by Zillow’s own published figures, the off-market version misses by around 7 percent at the median nationally, with half of them worse. Use the Zestimate as a starting point if you want. Price your home off the comps.
If you want a custom list of homes in Las Vegas that match what you are looking for, you can request one here: Get Your Customized List of Homes