You Deserve a Second Opinion on Your Home Value

Most CMA software gives agents an option to generate a report without showing the search criteria used to find the comps. When a report doesn't show what filters were applied — radius, square footage range, date range, property type — you have no way of verifying whether the comps are appropriate.

A competent, honest agent has nothing to hide. They'll show you exactly how they found each comp and why it's relevant to your home. When the search parameters are missing, it's not an oversight — it's a deliberate choice.

HOA and non-HOA properties are fundamentally different products. Research from the National Association of Realtors shows HOA homes typically sell for 5–6% more than comparable non-HOA homes — largely due to maintained common areas, consistent aesthetics, and community amenities like pools and parks.

Using an HOA community home as a comp for your non-HOA home — or vice versa — without a proper adjustment creates a false baseline. An agent looking to inflate your expected value will quietly include the higher-priced HOA sales in your comp set.

A true comparable is a home close enough to yours that buyers would consider it as an alternative. In most suburban Arizona markets, that means within a half mile to one mile. When an agent pulls comps from 2–3 miles away, they've crossed neighborhood boundaries, school districts, and micro-market dynamics that meaningfully affect price.

Agents use a wider radius when nearby sales don't support the price they want to show you. They'll cross a major road, pull from a more desirable ZIP code, or jump to a different subdivision with higher price points — all while presenting it as a legitimate comparable.

Square footage is one of the most direct drivers of home value. In an Arizona market where homes might trade at $175–220 per square foot, using a home that's 300–500 square feet larger as your "comparable" creates a $52,500–$110,000 artificial inflation in your baseline.

Professional appraisers apply specific dollar adjustments for square footage differences between properties — typically $20–35 per square foot for each deviation from a subject property. A CMA that uses significantly larger or smaller homes without explicit size adjustments is either incompetent or intentionally misleading.

A 3-bedroom home and a 4-bedroom home are different products. Buyers with families specifically search for a specific bedroom count — that demand difference is real and measurable. Using a 4/2.5 home to value your 3/2 creates an apples-to-oranges comparison that inflates your baseline.

The same logic applies to bathrooms. A master suite with a separate soaking tub, double vanity, and walk-in shower commands a premium that doesn't automatically transfer to a standard master bath. Agents who ignore these differences are constructing a fiction, not an analysis.

A 1998-built home and a 2018-built home are not equivalent, even at the same square footage in the same neighborhood. Newer homes carry premiums for modern mechanical systems (HVAC, plumbing, electrical), updated building codes, energy efficiency, and contemporary finishes. Buyers pay for this — and the market reflects it.

Using a newer-construction comp to value an older home without a depreciation adjustment artificially inflates the older home's expected value. In high-growth Arizona markets, this gap can be $20,000–$60,000 depending on the age difference and condition.

This is especially relevant right now. The 2021–2023 pandemic-era housing market saw unprecedented price appreciation. Agents who use sales from that peak period as current comps are presenting historical data as if it reflects today's market. It doesn't.

According to Redfin's 2025 analysis, the typical listed home is priced 9% above what homes are actually selling for — the widest gap since 2020. Sellers using old comps get listed at inflated prices, sit on market, and eventually sell for less than they would have if priced correctly from the start.