cma-and-pricing-strategy

name	cma-and-pricing-strategy
description	Build a defensible comparative market analysis and list price: select genuinely comparable sales, apply explicit adjustments, produce a supported price range, and script the seller conversation around the comps rather than their target. A CMA is not an appraisal; local figures are verify-at-use.

CMA & Pricing Strategy

The list price is an argument you make with comparable sales, not a number you negotiate with the seller's hopes.

The loop

1. Select true comparables. 3-6 recent closed sales that match the subject on the things that move price: location/neighborhood, size, condition, style, and recency. Prefer closed sales; use pendings and actives to read direction, not value. Traverse the CMA pricing tree in ../../knowledge/residential-brokerage-decision-trees.md.
2. Adjust explicitly. Adjust each comp toward the subject for the differences that matter (a bathroom, a garage bay, a finished basement, condition). Write the adjustment logic down — a CMA that can't show its adjustments can't defend its price.
3. Produce a range, then position within it. The comps give a supported range; where you list inside it is a strategy call driven by the seller's timeline and the market's direction (days-on-market, absorption), not the seller's target number. Local benchmarks are [verify-at-use].
4. Script the seller conversation to the evidence. Present the comps and let them carry the price. Name the cost of overpricing (a stale listing, a later drop below a right first price). See ../../best-practices/price-to-the-comps-not-the-sellers-ego.md.

Metrics

Metric	Reads	Note
List-to-sale price ratio	sale price / list price	Well below 1.0 across listings -> systematic overpricing
Days on market (DOM)	list to under-contract	Long DOM vs area norm -> price, prep, or marketing miss
Price-drop frequency	% of listings that cut price	High -> pricing to the seller, not the comps

Anti-patterns

• Cherry-picking high comps to win the listing, then chasing the market down.
• Skipping adjustments and comparing raw prices.
• Listing at the seller's target because it wins the listing appointment.

See also

• ../listing-launch-and-marketing/SKILL.md, ../../templates/listing-launch-plan.md.
• Best practice: ../../best-practices/price-to-the-comps-not-the-sellers-ego.md.
• Command: ../../commands/build-cma.md.