A comparable commercial site with 65 front feet sold for a cash-equivalent price of $585,000. Per standard appraisal guidance, sale price per front foot is a vacant-land unit of comparison when frontage is a primary value determinant. The subject site has 72 front feet and is otherwise similar. What indicated land value does the front-foot unit support before other adjustments?
Correct Answer
D) $648,000
Rate = $585,000/65 = $9,000/front foot; subject = 72 × $9,000 = $648,000. The indicated result is $648,000. Common errors: using the comparable price without adjusting for frontage gives $585,000; inverting the frontage ratio gives $528,125; reporting the value of the frontage difference gives $63,000.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option D is correct because the comparable's unit rate is $585,000 ÷ 65 = $9,000 per front foot, and the subject's 72 front feet × $9,000 = $648,000. Front-foot pricing fits when frontage is a primary value determinant.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: $63,000
Option A, $63,000, values only the frontage difference: $9,000 × (72 − 65) = $63,000. That is the adjustment amount, not the subject value of 72 × $9,000 = $648,000.
Option B: $528,125
Option B, $528,125, inverts the frontage ratio: $585,000 ÷ 72 × 65 = $528,125. The correct rate is $585,000 ÷ 65 = $9,000, applied to 72 front feet for $648,000.
Option C: $585,000
Option C, $585,000, uses the comparable price with no adjustment for the subject's greater frontage. Applying the $9,000 rate to 72 front feet gives $648,000.
Rate from comp, size from subject
Get the rate by dividing the comparable's price by its frontage, then multiply by the subject's frontage.
How to use: Use this to avoid inverting the ratio in unit price problems.
Exam Tip
Check that you divide by the comparable's units and multiply by the subject's units.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Inverting the frontage ratio
- -Reporting only the value of the frontage difference
- -Using the comparable price without unit conversion
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests the front-foot unit of comparison. The comparable's price is divided by its frontage to get a rate per front foot, which is then applied to the subject's frontage. $585,000 ÷ 65 = $9,000 per front foot, times 72 front feet.
Background Knowledge
Price per front foot is a standard vacant land unit of comparison, used where street frontage strongly influences value, such as in retail or commercial strips. Converting sales to unit prices allows sites of different frontage to be compared. Other differences still require separate adjustment.
Real-World Application
Along a busy commercial corridor, buyers price lots by frontage. An appraiser converts a recent 65-foot lot sale to a per-front-foot rate and applies it to the subject's 72 feet, then considers depth and other differences separately.
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Previous Question
Three recent vacant-land sales of similar highest-and-best-use acreage closed at: Comp A $1,320,000 for 15.0 acres; Comp B $990,000 for 11.0 acres; Comp C $1,140,000 for 12.0 acres. The subject is 9.5 acres and is otherwise comparable after unit-price reconciliation. Per standard appraisal guidance sales-comparison land valuation using $/acre, what indicated land value results after taking the arithmetic mean of the three $/acre unit prices and applying it to the subject?
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