Updated: November 8, 2026 · By Mark Dietel, Broker/Owner, Mark Dietel Realty · 7-minute read
Quick answer: A CMA holds up only when you can see every comparable and every dollar adjustment behind it. Mark Dietel Realty builds a CMA for a Central Indiana house from similar homes that sold, went under contract or are for sale nearby, so the range depends on which homes the agent keeps and how each is adjusted.
What we analyzed: the Indiana sales disclosure rules and public search described by STATS Indiana and the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF), read on November 8, 2026. We used no market statistics and no data from online home-value sites. Dollar figures in the worked example are made up. Laws and forms change, so confirm current wording with your county assessor.
Most pages tell you what a CMA is, and we covered that in Zestimate, assessment or CMA: what is my Indiana home worth?. This page opens the CMA and shows the choices inside it: which sales stay, which get left out, how one dollar adjustment is built, and a six-question check you can run on any CMA, ours included.
Key takeaways
- A CMA is a set of choices. A person picked each comparable, and each adjustment is a judgment you can ask about.
- The agent adjusts the comparable and leaves your house as it is.
- Homes under contract and active listings show what buyers choose now, so they belong beside closed sales.
- Ask to see the comparables and their adjustments before you accept a price.
Which sales does an agent pick as comparables?
An agent picks homes a buyer would weigh against yours: close by, similar in size and condition, and sold or priced recently. The agent also leaves some sales out.
Indiana law (IC 6-1.1-5.5) requires a sales disclosure form (State Form 46021) whenever real property is sold, and assessors use the forms to adjust assessed values, according to STATS Indiana. The form lists the parcel number, address, seller and buyer. The DLGF runs a public search for forms filed after July 1, 2008, so you can confirm that a nearby sale happened and ask whether it made the CMA. Forms filed before that date are not in the search. Records for the current year cover only some counties, so a very recent sale may not show yet, and a missing sale is a question for your agent, not proof it did not close.
Our experience: our CMAs start from the agent's listing database for closed sales, and we use the public sales record as a cross-check. This describes how we work and is not a statistic.
How an agent decides which sales stay in a CMA
| Check | Keep the sale when | Flag it or leave it out when |
|---|---|---|
| Location | It is in your subdivision or on a nearby street buyers would also tour | It is in another town or an area where buyers shop separately |
| Size and layout | Living area, bedrooms and baths are close to yours | The floor plan or lot is very different |
| Age and condition | Age and updates are similar | It was a full rehab, or it sold needing major work |
| Sale date | It closed recently enough that buyers would still call it fair | It closed so long ago that the competition has changed |
| Type of sale | It was an ordinary open-market sale | It was a transfer between relatives, a sale made in a hurry, or a sale with unusual terms |
How does an adjustment turn a different house into a comparable one?
An adjustment is a dollar amount added to or subtracted from a comparable's price to account for a difference from your house. If the comparable lacks something you have, such as a finished basement, the agent adds to its price. If it has something you lack, the agent subtracts.
Our read: each adjustment needs a reason you can follow, such as two similar homes that differ in one feature. Ask where each number came from. Many adjustments on one comparable signal a home that was not a close match and should carry less weight. Indiana adds one check: the condition your CMA assumes should match what you disclose on the Indiana seller's disclosure form (State Form 46234), since a buyer will read both.
How do homes under contract and active listings change the range?
Closed sales show what buyers paid in the past. Homes under contract show what buyers accepted lately, and active listings show the homes your buyer will compare yours with this week. A CMA built only on closed sales can set a price that fit a market that has already moved.
Our view at Mark Dietel Realty: Buyers compare your home with the other homes they tour that week, at your price. Sometimes that is the neighbor's resale. In towns where builders are active, it is often a new build with a warranty. Price and prepare for the homes your buyer will actually see.
Read the days on market and price changes on each active listing. A listing that cut its price and still waits shows where the first price failed.
What does this look like in Central Indiana?
A Johnson County owner can see the method at work on one house. Take a hypothetical owner of a three-bedroom, 1,600-square-foot ranch in Greenwood who wants to list in the new year. The owner first pulls the Johnson County Assessor property record card to confirm the bedrooms, baths and finished space on file. The house has a finished basement and its original roof. Every figure below is made up to show the method and is not a market statistic or a price for a real address.
Hypothetical example: building a CMA range for one Greenwood ranch
| Comparable | Status | Price | Adjustment we would discuss | Adjusted price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranch on a nearby street | Closed 6 weeks ago | $268,000 | Add $6,000: no finished basement, which the owner's house has | $274,000 |
| Ranch two streets over | Closed 3 months ago | $281,000 | Subtract $4,000: newer roof than the owner's house | $277,000 |
| Ranch on the next block | Under contract after 9 days, asking price shown | $275,000 | Add $5,000: one fewer bathroom than the owner's house | $280,000 |
| Ranch for sale now | Active for 38 days, one price cut, asking price shown | $289,900 | Subtract $8,000: larger lot and a bigger garage | $281,900 |
| Range we would discuss | Weighs the two closed sales and the contract most | The active listing marks the ceiling and has not sold | $270,000 to $282,000 |
The closed sales anchor the low end, and the contract shows where a buyer said yes lately. The active listing has already cut its price once, so it marks the ceiling.
A written net sheet then subtracts your mortgage payoff and your negotiated agent compensation (enter yours), along with the other costs of selling, so you see what you would keep at each price. Commissions are fully negotiable and are not set by law. See what goes into a seller net sheet.
When this doesn't apply
A CMA built on comparable sales fits most single-family homes, condos and townhomes that have similar homes selling nearby. It fits less well in these cases:
- Unusual properties with few similar sales, such as acreage or new construction. A licensed appraiser's opinion can sit beside the CMA.
- Owners who need a formal valuation for an estate, a court or a divorce settlement. Use the appraisal your attorney requests.
- Owners who only want a lower property tax bill. Use your county assessor and the Form 130 steps in our guide to the three home values.
What to do next
Run this six-question check on any CMA, ours included, before you accept a price:
- Which homes are the comparables, and how close is each to mine?
- What are the sale dates, and what has changed since then?
- What did each adjustment add or subtract, and where did that number come from?
- Which homes are under contract or active at my price, and how long have they waited?
- Which sales did you leave out, and why?
- What range does the CMA support, and what does a written net sheet show at the low and high end?
Then look up nearby sales in the DLGF public sales disclosure search, and pull your county assessor's property record card to confirm the bedrooms, baths and finished space on file for your house. For a do-it-yourself start, see 3 simple ways to find your home's true market value.
Prefer to talk? Call (317) 426-9911. Mark Dietel Realty has offices in Southside Indianapolis, Greenwood and Bloomington.
Frequently asked questions
How many comparables should a CMA have?
There is no set number. A handful of close comparables usually serves you better than a long list of loose ones. Each home should be one a buyer would weigh against yours, and the agent should explain why it is in. Ask to see the homes the agent dropped, too.
Why is my CMA lower than the online estimate?
An online estimate is a computer model's guess from records and past sales, and it cannot see your updates or your wear. A CMA starts from similar sales, then adds a visit and today's competition. When the two disagree, ask what the estimate assumed about your house.
Does a CMA use my assessed value?
No. The assessed value is a January 1 tax figure built to share the property tax bill. A CMA uses sales and listings. We compare the numbers in our guide to the three home values, and the assessor's property record card is still useful for checking the facts about your house.
How is a CMA different from an appraisal?
A CMA is an agent's opinion of price for listing a home. A lender's appraisal is ordered for a buyer's loan and looks back at closed sales. If one comes in short, read the appraisal came in low on my Indiana sale: now what?.
This is general information, not legal, tax or appraisal advice. Confirm your situation with the Marion County or Johnson County Assessor, a CPA or an attorney. Mark Dietel Realty - offices in Indianapolis (Southside), Greenwood and Bloomington, Indiana.
Sources
- STATS Indiana, Sales Disclosure Form database page (IC 6-1.1-5.5, who files, assessor use, weekly Friday updates, records from July 2008 forward): https://www.stats.indiana.edu/about/sdf.asp (read November 8, 2026).
- Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, Sales Disclosure Form information (State Form 46021; public search for forms filed after July 1, 2008; page updated September 21, 2026): https://www.in.gov/dlgf/assessments/sales-disclosure-form-information/ (read November 8, 2026).
- Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, Assessment Appeals fact sheet (January 1 assessment date, Form 130), as cited in our guide and read November 7, 2026: https://in.gov/dlgf/files/180309-Fact-Sheet-Appeal-Process-Fact-Sheet.pdf
- Mark Dietel Realty Positions Library, entry P-05 (word for word), and the Indiana seller's disclosure form, State Form 46234, as named in Positions Library entries P-04 and P-11, confirmed October 5, 2026.
