Best CMA Software: Cloud CMA vs The Competition

CMA software (Comparative Market Analysis) allows real estate agents to create data-rich CMA’s and listing presentations quickly and easily. We looked at the most popular options and rising stars and decided to review Cloud CMA, Toolkit CMA, and House Canary. These companies covered the range for agents, teams, brokerages, and investors in terms of price, design, and ease of use. Read on for our comparison and review of these three options, as well as our top recommendations.

Best Comparative Market Analysis Software for Real Estate Agents: Cloud CMA

We chose Cloud CMA as the best CMA software for real estate agents because it lets real estate agents quickly and easily create data-rich and attractive CMA’s and listing presentations. Even better, they offer goodies like pre written and designed listing presentations, a home valuation landing page, local school information, walk score, Yelp reviews, One Click CMA’s, property tours, reports, and flyers.

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Best CMA Software Comparison: Cloud CMA vs HouseCanary vs ToolkitCMA

	Cloud CMA	House Canary	ToolkitCMA
Pricing Learn More	$349.95 / year $499 / 2 years($34.95 / mo if paid monthly)	$54 / month for 10 CMA’s $90 / month for 20 CMA’s$180 / month for 50 CMA’s	$192 / year
Free Trial? Learn More	Yes	Yes	Online demo only
# of MLS databases covered Learn More	300+	163	500+
Ease of Use Learn More	Easy	Easy	Medium
CMA Formats Learn More	PDF, Ipad, & Android, PC/Mac	PDF, Excel	PDF, Ipad, & Android, PC/Mac,
CMA & Presentation Design Learn More	Excellent	Excellent	Good
Sample CMA & listing presentation Learn More	Listing Presentation (tablet) click here. Listing Presentation (PDF) click here.	CMA “Value Report” (pdf) click here Listing Presentation: N/A	Listing Presentation (tablet) click here. Listing Presentation (PDF) click here.
Types of Reports & Presentations Learn More	CMA, property reports, buyer tours, flyers, custom	Value Reports (CMA), Local & national market reports, Appraisal tools	CMA, property reports, buyer tour, flyers, custom
Unique Features Learn More	One Click CMA Home valuation landing page Neighborhood info	Local & national Market Reports+ Appraisal tools	None
Customer Support	Phone and email M-F 9:00-5:00 PT	Phone and Email M-F 9:00-5:00 (PST)	Phone and email M-F 9:00-5:00 EST
	www.CloudCMA.com	www.HouseCanary.com	www.ToolkitCMA.com

Best Overall Comparative Market Analysis Software for Real Estate Agents: Cloud CMA

Cloud CMA is a flexible, powerful and affordable CMA and listing presentation creation tool which is currently offered as a member benefit for over 300,000 real estate agents nationwide. If it’s not offered by your association, you should strongly consider adding it to your arsenal. Here’s why:

All-in-One CMA and Listing Presentation Creator + Extras

The main selling point for Cloud CMA is that they allow real estate agents to create, edit, and present data-rich and attractive CMA’s, listing presentations, reports, flyers and custom presentations. While HouseCanary offers rich historical data and future market predictions that are claimed to be 99.3% accurate, you’re left on your own to build your actual presentation. ToolkitCMA offers the same basic functionality, but their interface is clunkier, their finished CMA’s are less attractive, and they don’t offer any unique features that Cloud CMA or HouseCanary doesn’t.

One Click CMA

With Cloud CMA’s One Click CMA, you can send out fully featured, up-to-the-minute accurate CMAs, buyer’s tours, or property reports as easily as sending an email. All you need to do is address your email to CMA@cloudcma.com to send a CMA, tour@cloudcma.com to send a buyer’s tour, or property@cloudcma.com to send a property report. Then you can sit back and have a cup of coffee while your “assistant” slaves away preparing your presentations.

Home Valuation Landing Page

Incredibly, Cloud CMA also offers a home valuation landing page for free with their CMA software. Once you have an account, you can start generating seller leads with a link in your email signature, website, Facebook ads, or anywhere else online you’re likely to attract seller leads. After clicking the link, leads are taken to a landing page that asks them to give their personal info in return for a CMA. Once they do, Cloud CMA will send you the lead’s information.

Wow Homeowner’s with Zillow Reviews, Walk Score, School Info + More

Another great feature of Cloud CMA is they don’t just pull in MLS data. Your CMA and listing presentation can also include the following:

Zillow Reviews
Agent reviews from Realsatisfied, Reach500, and Testimonial Tree
Zestimate price comparison
Walk score
Yelp Reviews for local restaurants
Local photos
Local school information

Since their CMA’s, listing presentations and reports are fully customizable, you can include as little or as much of this info as you want.

Drawbacks & Limitations of Cloud CMA

The only real drawback to Cloud CMA is that they don’t allow agents to embed videos or matterport tours in their presentations. This is not the end of the world of course-agents can always add a link to a video or tour hosted elsewhere-but it would be nice to have the option.

Best CMA Software for Depth of Data and Market Analysis: HouseCanary

With a recent $33 million cash infusion from investors like Google’s Eric Schmidt, HouseCanary is poised to make a big splash in the real estate data and analytics market. There’s a very good reason you should pay attention to them too: They offer the kind of access to big data and analysis that was only available to big banks and appraisers until very recently.

Pulling From 40 Years of Historical Data Means More, and Better Comps

The perfect comp for any home is one that’s identical to yours, right next door, and sold yesterday. Of course the odds of finding a comp this dead on by combing through a few years of MLS data is nearly impossible. But what if that perfect comp sold 15 years ago?

HouseCanary uses sophisticated algorithms to find that perfect comp, even if it did sell back in the days when Eric Schmidt was still in college. Their algorithms then take that sale and update the price to reflect 15 years of price trends, inflation etc.

Predicts Home Values and Market Forecasts with Pinpoint Accuracy

Any agent who’s pitched a homeowner has had to answer the dreaded Zillow question: “But Zillow said my house was worth 30% more than your CMA does…” In fact, the question is so common that Cloud CMA even addresses it with a factual rebuttal it in their listing presentations. While you know Zillow’s Zestimate accuracy ranges from a 5% error rate in some zip codes, to 10 or even 20% in others, your homeowner probably doesn’t.

HouseCanary on the other hand claims that their algorithm and data sets are so good that they can pinpoint a home’s value with only a 5% error rate across the board. Even more impressive, they claim their algorithms can also predict your listing’s value in 3 years with a staggering 99.3% accuracy. That makes a HouseCanary report a killer value add for buyer clients as well. “Look, the data show the value of this home is expected to rise by XX% in the next three years. I think we can safely up our offer by XX% and still get you a great ROI”

Big Data & Analytics: Your Ace in The Hole to Win Over Homeowner’s in Competitive Markets

Let’s face it. If you’re trying to swim with the sharks in New York, San Francisco or LA, you’re going to need to need all the help you can get. Great Zillow reviews and a winning personality will only get you so far. Using big data and analytics from HouseCanary can be your ace in the hole.

Think about it. If you land a listing appointment is say, Beverly Hills, chances are a superstar agent like Ben Bacal or Peter Lorimer has pitched them too. He’s going to tell them how he managed to get $50 million for the house down the block. That’s some deep market knowledge to compete with. Offering data from your own work and the big data and analytics from HouseCanary might let you keep your head above water.

Your Potential Clients Deserve and Expect Second and Third opinions

Even if you have the market knowledge, sales skills, and $3,000 pant suits to match, why wouldn’t you spend a few extra dollars to get a second and third opinion on your valuation? Why not put together your own CMA with Cloud CMA, then spend $9 to get a more in depth valuation and forecast from HouseCanary and present both?

Drawbacks and Limitations of HouseCanary

First and foremost, HouseCanary’s presentation tools are rather limited. By rather limited I mean it doesn’t have any. You get your CMA (which they call a Value Report), and then you’re on your own to build your pitch deck.

Lack of direct MLS integration is also an issue for HouseCanary. While they use MLS data to come up with their valuations, they’re not pulling all of that data into the CMA. You might need to add number of bedrooms, square footage, and listing pictures yourself. That’s an hour or two of your time (or a great task for your real estate virtual assistant.) that could be spent cold calling FSBO, door knocking, or showing.

Best Basic Comparative Market Analysis Software for Agents: ToolkitCMA

Okay. Let’s face it, there are some people in our industry who make millions without relying on flashy software. They have their pitches honed so well that they could present their CMA on the back of a cocktail napkin and still land 8 figure clients. If you want something simple that just WORKS, then ToolkitCMA will get the job done and get it done quickly without much of a learning curve.

In addition, Toolkit CMA currently works with more MLS’s than the other two platforms. You may already have ToolkitCMA integrated into your MLS or offered for free by your brokerage.

Drawbacks & Limitations of ToolkitCMA

The only real drawbacks to ToolkitCMA are the dated look and feel of their interface, CMA’s and listing presentations. Even though they may have the same information, a presentation that looks and feels dated will not stack up well with one that’s more modern looking. There’s no escaping the fact that aesthetics matter in our industry.

In the world of real estate CRM’s, Top Producer has the same issues. Good functionality, but a dated look and feel that makes it just not a very pleasant place to spend your time. We’re hoping these companies start taking design as seriously as they should.

In-Depth Review: Cloud CMA vs. House Canary vs. ToolkitCMA

Pricing

As with most SAAS software, pricing for CMA and listing presentation software is generally only available via monthly subscription. However, HouseCanary slightly bucks this trend by offering a la carte reports for $9 each. However, both Cloud CMA and HouseCanary offer different pricing packages for agents, teams, and brokerages. Here’s how they stack up.

Cloud CMA:

Individual Agents

For individual agents, Cloud CMA offers comparative market analysis software and presentation package for $34.95 per month if you choose the month to month plan, $349.95 per year if you pay one year up front, or $499 for two years if you choose to pay two years up front.

Team/Brokerage/MLS pricing

Like TouchCMA, Cloud CMA also offers discounts for teams, brokerages, and MLS clients.

Free Trial

Cloud CMA offers a 30 day free trial of their software.

HouseCanary:

Individual Agents, Teams, and Brokerages

For individual agents, real estate investors and consumers, HouseCanary offers 3 pricing tiers:

HouseCanary Pricing

Plan	Number of value reports per month	Price per month
Basic	10	$54
Plus	20	$90
Premium	50	$180

Real Estate Investor Pricing

With their Pro Plans, HouseCanary offers unlimited access to report and valuations for entire markets. This gives real estate investors a 30,000 foot view and a granular details of markets they plan to invest or build in. It’s not cheap though. Regional plans are $1000 per month and nationwide plans are $4165 per month.

Appraiser Pricing

HouseCanary also offers valuation tools for licensed real estate appraisers. Pricing ranges from $90 per month for 25 appraisals, to $210 per month for 100.

Free Trial

Like Cloud CMA, HouseCanary offers a free trial.

ToolkitCMA:

Individual Agents

ToolkitCMA charges individual agents $192 per year which makes ToolkitCMA the second most affordable CMA software we tested.

Team/Brokerage/MLS pricing

Like Cloud CMA and TouchCMA, ToolkitCMA also offers discounts for team, brokerages, and MLS accounts.

Free Trial

ToolkitCMA does not offer a free thirty day trial but they do offer a live demo on their site.

MLS Coverage

MLS partnership and integration are very important criteria to consider when choosing CMA software. After all, if it doesn’t work with your MLS, there’s no point in buying it. That said, if there is enough interest, each company should be able to strike a deal with an individual MLS.

Cloud CMA: Since the developers behind Cloud CMA have been building software for real estate agents since 1992, they currently have partnerships with over 300 MLS. According to the representative we spoke with, the top 5 MLS Vendors have Cloud CMA integrated in their MLS systems. This includes CoreLogic’s Matrix/Fusion MLS systems, FBS’ flexMLS, Black Knight’s Paragon/REInsight, Rapattoni, and many others. If you don’t find yours on the list, call them a call.

HouseCanary: While HouseCanary uses data from 163 MLS, they don’t publish or sell this data to the end user.

ToolkitCMA: ToolkitCMA currently integrates with the largest number of MLS of the three platforms we tested. According to a representative from ToolkitCMA, they currently integrate with over 500 MLS.

Ease of Use

In order for agents to start using these programs, they need to be easy to use. Agents who use their MLS or produce their own reports with excel, powerpoint etc. can be reluctant to switch over unless the platforms are easy to use. With some slight variation all three programs we tested were easy to use.

Cloud CMA: Cloud CMA was intuitive and easy to use. Their software has a clean and logically laid out interface that was easy to navigate. All core features were very easy to locate. Once created, presentations are very easy to edit.

HouseCanary: HouseCanary was also very easy and intuitive to use. You simply plug in an address, then HouseCanary pulls suggested comps for you which you can edit, or even remove from the CMA. You can also manually add your own comps if you’re not happy with the one’s their algorithm chooses for you.

ToolkitCMA: ToolkitCMA was also easy to use, but a little bit clunkier and less intuitive to use than Cloud CMA.

CMA Format

Cloud CMA: Cloud CMA also agents to create PDF presentations and interactive tablet presentations.

ToolkitCMA: ToolkitCMA allows agents to create PDF presentations as well as tablet presentations on both Ipad and Android.

CMA Design and Layout

Let’s face it, if aesthetics didn’t matter we would all be pulling screenshots from the MLS and emailing them to our clients. Here’s how the three platforms fared for design and layout.

Cloud CMA:

PDF CMA’s & Presentations

Like TouchCMA, Cloud CMA also has very attractive and well laid out default pages for their PDF presentations. They also allow agents to make extensive changes to the look and feel of most pages of their presentations. Agents can choose fonts, color schemes, and swap out photos and charts.

Here’s a sample PDF CMA presentation from Cloud CMA.

Tablet Presentations

Cloud CMA’s tablet presentation was also attractive, laid out in a very logical way for a presentation. All default pages looked great, and more importantly, didn’t overwhelm you with information. The look and feel is very similar to a nicely designed PowerPoint deck.

Here’s a sample tablet CMA presentation from Cloud CMA.

ToolkitCMA:

PDF Presentations

While all of ToolkitCMA’s default pages on their PDF presentation are laid out logically and are easy to read, most people we showed them to mentioned they looked a bit dated. Don’t get me wrong, they most certainly aren’t poorly designed. They just didn’t look and feel quite as polished and professional as Cloud CMA’s. It should also be noted that this is largely a matter of personal taste. Some people may prefer the look of Toolkit’s presentations.

Here’s a sample PDF CMA presentation from ToolkitCMA.

Tablet Presentations

The default pages for ToolkitCMA’s tablet presentation (they don’t have interactive presentations) are also very logically laid out and easy to read. Unfortunately they looked and felt dated too.

Here’s a sample of Tablet CMA presentation ToolkitCMA.

Types of Reports & Presentations

Like most real estate software these days, Cloud CMA, HouseCanary and ToolkitCMA all offer a swiss army knife of features for real estate agent. Here’s a quick overview of the other reports you can generate with each product.

Cloud CMA: Cloud CMA allows agents to create four main types of presentations: CMA’s listing presentations, buyer tours, property reports, and property flyers.

Where Cloud CMA really shines is in their auto generated pages. They offer agents the choice between adding automatically generated school reports (Great Schools), top local restaurants on Yelp, walkscore, and local pictures from Google’s Panaramio. While these features might not win over any seller leads you’re presenting a CMA to, they are AMAZING for buyer tours and property reports. Think how impressed your relocation clients will be when you send them such useful information to kick off your first showing appointment.

One auto generated page that is incredibly useful for pitching sellers is Cloud CMA’s Zestimate comparison report. This tool pulls comp data from Zillow, then presents the actual selling prices of the homes from the MLS. This means clients can see just how inaccurate Zestimates really are.

ToolkitCMA: Like Cloud CMA, ToolkitCMA also offers comparative market analysis presentations, buyer tours, property reports, and property flyers. They do not, however, offer any auto generated pages.

Unique Features

Here’s a quick rundown of the unique features of Cloud CMA and HouseCanary. ToolkitCMA is a solid product that many successful agents use, but doesn’t have any features the other two don’t.

Cloud CMA:

One Click CMA

One of their coolest features of Cloud CMA is the ability to create CMAs or other presentations or reports simply by sending an email. Here’s how it works. To send a potential client a presentation or report all you need to do is address the email to tour@cloudcma.com to generate a buyer’s tour, property@cloudcma.com to generate a property report, or CMA@cloudcma.com to generate a comparative market analysis.

Next, you add your leads name to the email’s subject line and enter the address of the property you’d like to generate a report for in the body of the email. Once you send the email, Cloud CMA will generate a full report and send it to you within minutes. Then you can have a cup of coffee and chat with your new lead while your “assistant” slaves away generating a fully featured report on the property the client is inquiring about.

Home Valuation Landing Pages

Perhaps even more impressive than the One Click CMA is Cloud CMA’s home valuation landing pages. Cloud CMA generates buttons and links that you can include in your email signature, website, or Zillow page that takes your leads to your very own home valuation landing page. Once on the landing page, they are prompted to enter their contact information in exchange for a comparative market analysis. Once they leave their information, Cloud CMA will contact you to let you know about your new seller lead. Considering there are companies out there that only sell landing pages (generally for more than Cloud CMA charges), this is a pretty incredible add on.

Check out a sample Cloud CMA landing page here.

HouseCanary:

HouseCanary offers real estate agents and appraisers both valuations and market predictions based on big data. The ability to value a home three years out with high accuracy is something no CMA software or MLS offers.

ToolkitCMA:

While ToolkitCMA gets the job done quickly and easily, they don’t offer any unique features that Cloud CMA doesn’t have. Since they are currently used by a huge number of agents, we expect more features from them in the future.

All CMA Software Options

CMA Software	Best For
Your MLS	Realtors on a budget
Touch CMA	Video and Matterport
ToolkitCMA	Realtors on a budget who want a simple tool
Cloud CMA	Best Overall CMA Software
RPR	Realtors on a budget
HomeSnap.com	Homesnap members

The Bottom Line

If you want to impress your homeowner with your real estate marketing and nab the listing, the best CMA software for the job is Cloud CMA. It lets you produce well designed CMA’s, listing presentations, property tours, and flyers. Even better, you can send out CMA’s and reports with a simple email and get a free home valuation landing page.

While Cloud CMA is our top pick for best CMA software, if you want to compete with the sharks you should strongly consider using HouseCanary to provide more data, and more comps to seal the deal.

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About the Author

Emile L'Eplattenier