Stop Overpaying: Why Your CMA
Only Compares Half
the Picture
Bedrooms and bathrooms are a starting point. But your "comparable" also has a pool, train station access, and no bushfire risk. Yours doesn't. That changes the price.
You find a property you like. You pull up the comparables. Three houses sold nearby in the last six months with similar bedrooms and bathrooms. The agent says "the market is around $1.2 million" and you nod along.
But here is the problem. One of those comparables had a swimming pool. Another sat 200 metres from the train station. The third was in a flood zone. Your property has none of these things.
Are they really comparable? The traditional CMA says yes. The data says no.
The $50,000 Problem with Traditional CMAs
Every major property platform in Australia, from Core Logic to Domain, uses the same basic formula for comparable sales: match on bedrooms, bathrooms, land size, and proximity. That is it.
This made sense 20 years ago when data was limited. It does not make sense today.
Real example: 9 Monterey Street and 52 Douglas Street, St Ives
Both in St Ives, Ku-ring-gai. No. 9 Monterey sold for $6,200,000 (5 bed, 5 bath). No. 52 Douglas sold for $5,260,000 (5 bed, 4 bath). A traditional CMA sees two 5-bedroom houses in the same suburb and calls them comparable. The Microburbs CMA goes deeper. It confirms 21 matching features: swimming pool, ducted heating, double garage, fireplace, north facing, alfresco area, high ceilings, stone benchtops, study, large backyard, and fenced yard. That overlap tells you the comparison is sound.
The CMA then explains the $940,000 gap. Monterey has CCTV, a balcony, a teen retreat, rainwater tanks, and secure parking. Douglas has a home office, solar panels, timber flooring, an updated kitchen, and an entertainment area. Despite more individual features, Douglas sold for less. The extra bathroom, brand-new build quality, and premium finishes drove the Monterey premium. A buyer considering either property now has a concrete feature list to negotiate with.
Same suburb, $225,000 apart: 8 Mona Street and 3 Hampden Avenue, Wahroonga
Both 5 bed, 4 bath in Wahroonga. Both as-new custom builds. No. 8 Mona sold for $6,225,000 on 1,004 sqm. No. 3 Hampden sold for $6,450,000 on 1,290 sqm. The CMA confirms 20 matching features: swimming pool, ducted heating, double garage, fireplace, alfresco area, high ceilings, intercom, security system, study, and walk-in robe. Twenty features in common across nearby streets is an exceptionally strong match.
The CMA then pinpoints the price gap. Hampden has an elevated position, a 1,290 sqm block, solar panels, timber flooring, and a home office. Mona has stone benchtops and a water tank. The $225,000 gap maps to position and land: Hampden sits on a bigger, elevated block. A buyer comparing these two can quantify exactly what 286 extra sqm and elevation are worth.
When your CMA ignores features like pools, renovation status, train station distance, and bushfire risk, you are not comparing like with like. You are guessing.
What a Home Feature-Level CMA Actually Compares
The Microburbs CMA matches properties on 30+ attributes across four categories.
Property Features
Pool, solar panels, home office, open plan living, heated flooring, entertainment area, wide frontage, level access
Location Distances
Actual metres to the train station, bus stop, beach, CBD, supermarket, and shopping centre
Area Investment Data
Capital growth forecast, median prices, rental yields, school rankings, crime scores, liveability scores
Risk Overlays
Bushfire prone, flood zone, erosion risk, power line proximity, public housing concentration, mobile blackspots
For every comparable, the system shows you three things: features you share, features the comparable has that you don't, and features you have that the comparable lacks. Each one is a concrete pricing factor.
How This Saves You Money
Negotiation ammunition
When the agent points to a comparable that sold for $1.3 million, you can respond with specifics. "That comparable had a pool and solar panels. This property has neither. Those features are worth $40,000 to $60,000. My offer reflects that."
One property investor described these as "discount points." Every missing feature is a data-backed reason to pay less.
That would be super good, because then you can really have a good feel for one of the most important parts: not spending too much on the buy.
-- Property investor, Microburbs consultation session
Verified distances, not ad copy
A listing says "a stroll to the shops" or "close to schools." But how far is that in metres? The Microburbs CMA does not rely on what the agent wrote. It calculates the actual distance from each property to every amenity: train stations, bus stops, supermarkets, shopping centres, the beach, and the CBD.
When a comparable is 380 metres from the station and yours is 1.2 kilometres away, the CMA shows that gap in exact numbers. No vague claims. No marketing language. Just measured distances you can verify on a map.
Risk you can actually see
A 4-bedroom house 800 metres from a bushfire prone area is not the same purchase as an identical house with no bushfire risk. Insurance premiums differ. Resale values differ. Future capital growth differs.
No other CMA platform in Australia systematically includes bushfire, flood, erosion, and public housing data in property comparisons.
Prices adjusted for market movement
A comparable that sold 18 months ago for $900,000 in a suburb where median prices have risen 8% is not worth $900,000 today. The Microburbs CMA applies suburb median growth rates to adjust historical sale prices to current-day estimates.
How It Compares to What You Use Now
| Feature | Traditional CMA | Microburbs CMA |
|---|---|---|
| Bedrooms / bathrooms / land size | Yes | Yes |
| Pool, solar, renovation status | No | Yes |
| Distance to train station (in metres) | No | Yes |
| Bushfire and flood risk | No | Yes |
| Public housing proximity | No | Yes |
| Capital growth forecast comparison | No | Yes |
| School ranking comparison | No | Yes |
| Growth-adjusted pricing | No | Yes |
| Street View images | No | Yes |
| Fully automated | Manual | Automated |
| Data update frequency | Monthly | Weekly |
Who Is This For?
Property investors running due diligence before making an offer. The CMA is the final step. It tells you whether the asking price is fair relative to genuinely comparable recent sales.
Buyer's agents who currently spend hours pulling RP Data comparables and building spreadsheets manually. The Microburbs CMA automates this entire process. On the Office plan, you can white-label it with your own branding.
Home buyers who want to understand exactly why the agent is quoting a particular price range. The feature comparison gives you the language to have that conversation.
CMA is the most important part of buying a property. It's the final hurdle of due diligence. Once you've narrowed down an area, it's the last step before you say, OK, let's buy this.
-- Microburbs team, product feedback session
How to Access It
The CMA is included in every Microburbs Property Report. No extra charge. No separate product to buy.
For buyer's agents and enterprise users, the CMA is available via API for integration into your own systems.
CMAs are available for properties that are currently listed or have recently been listed for sale.
Run a CMA on Any Property in Australia
Get a Microburbs Property Report and see 30+ feature comparisons, risk overlays, and growth-adjusted pricing for every comparable sale.