Selling Your Home

CMA vs. Zestimate: which should I trust for my home value?

By Steve Lockhart

The short answer

The two numbers come from different places. A Zestimate is a computer model running public data.

Full answer

The two numbers come from different places. A Zestimate is a computer model running public data. It updates with data feeds, it cannot see your home, and it often treats location and square footage as the full story. A CMA is built by a local agent who picks recent sold homes that are actually similar, checks the details, and writes adjustments for a bigger bedroom, a remodel, a pool, a view, or a corner lot. Then the agent reviews the active competing homes a buyer will cross-shop against. The CMA is still an opinion, not a guarantee, but it is an informed, explainable opinion built from homes and off-the-market. When the two disagree, I put my money on the work on the ground. Online estimates are convenient, but they are not the number to price a sale around.

Go a little deeper

Frequently asked

Questions sellers often follow up on

Can a Zestimate ever be right?

It can come close in very average, very consistent neighborhoods where homes are genuinely similar. As soon as condition, upgrades, or unusual features come into play, the model loses accuracy. Even in average neighborhoods, it tends to lag the market rather than lead it.

How recent do the sold comparisons need to be?

Ideally within the last three months, and fresher data matters more in a fast market. Older sales happened in a different market. In a shifting market, we weight the most recent and most comparable sales the heaviest.

Does my assessed or tax value match the market value?

Usually not. Assessors value for tax purposes with their own formulas and timelines, and Nevada keeps assessed value separate from market value. The tax value tells you little about what a buyer would pay today.

The Lockhart Method

Your Home | My Strategy | Proven Results

My strategy: build the price on a real CMA, not an algorithm. We choose genuine comparable sales, make reasonable adjustments, and test the result against the competition. Estimates get you a second opinion; your price gets you a method.

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