A comparable superior to the subject in every adjusted category should produce an indication that is:
Correct Answer
A) Above the subject's likely value before adjustment
Why this is correct: A comparable superior in every adjusted category (e.g., size, condition, location) sold for a higher price. Adjustments downward for each superior feature bring its adjusted value toward the subject's likely value, making the unadjusted sale price an upper bracket indicator. Why the other choices are wrong: Below the subject's likely value would apply to an inferior comparable. Identical after adjustment is the goal, but the unadjusted price is higher. Unusable is incorrect if adjustments are properly supported. Exam tip: Superior comparables have higher unadjusted prices; adjustments bring them down to the subject.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Superiority across every category means the market paid more for that property than it would have paid for the subject, so its unadjusted price sits above the subject's likely value. Net downward adjustments then bring the indication down toward the subject. The unadjusted price functions as an upper bracket, which is a positive contribution to the analysis rather than a defect. The same reasoning inverted describes an inferior comparable establishing the lower bound.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option B: Below the subject's likely value before adjustment
Below the subject's likely value is what an inferior comparable produces, since a property worse in every category would have sold for less than the subject would bring. The option simply reverses the direction. Candidates land here by confusing the direction of the adjustment, which is downward, with the position of the unadjusted price, which is above.
Option C: Identical to the subject's value after adjustment
Identical after adjustment describes the goal of the process, not the position of the unadjusted price, and the stem asks about the indication produced before adjustment. In reality adjusted indications from several comparables rarely land on an identical figure; they cluster in a range that the appraiser then reconciles. Treating convergence as an expected identity misrepresents how reconciliation works.
Option D: Unusable regardless of the adjustments applied
A comparable superior in every category is fully usable as long as the adjustments are supported, and it performs the valuable service of setting the upper bracket. The situation to watch is a set where every comparable is superior, which leaves the subject unbracketed on the low side and forces extrapolation. Uniform superiority in one sale is a normal condition, not a disqualifying one.
Better Sold Higher
Say the sentence out loud: better sold higher, so adjust it down. Worse sold lower, so adjust it up. The unadjusted price tells you where the comparable sits relative to the subject; the adjustment tells you which way you have to walk to get there.
How to use: When a question describes a comparable as uniformly superior or inferior, first place its unadjusted price above or below the subject, then state the direction of the net adjustment. Answer whichever of the two the stem is actually asking about.
Exam Tip
Read carefully whether the stem says before adjustment or after adjustment. The exam frequently offers both the correct position and the correct direction as separate choices, and only one matches the question asked.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Confusing the direction of the adjustment with the position of the unadjusted price
- -Selecting only superior comparables, leaving the subject unbracketed
- -Expecting adjusted indications to be identical rather than clustered
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
Bracketing is the practice of selecting comparables that straddle the subject, some superior and some inferior, so the subject's value is enclosed by the unadjusted evidence rather than extrapolated beyond it. The logic that makes bracketing work is simple: a property better than the subject in every respect should have commanded more than the subject would command, and a property worse in every respect should have commanded less. That gives the appraiser an upper and lower bound before a single adjustment is calculated. Adjustments then move each comparable toward the subject, downward for the superior one and upward for the inferior one, and if the analysis is sound the adjusted indications converge inside the bracket. A comparable superior in every category is therefore useful, not disqualified, because it establishes the ceiling.
Background Knowledge
You need the bracketing concept and why appraisers seek comparables above and below the subject, the sign convention for adjustments, and the difference between an unadjusted price and an adjusted indication. You should also understand reconciliation as a weighing of indications by reliability rather than a mechanical averaging.
Real-World Application
An appraiser valuing a mid-range home deliberately selects one larger, updated sale above the expected value and one smaller, dated sale below it, plus two closer matches. The bracket reassures the reviewer that the conclusion sits inside observed market evidence rather than beyond the edge of it.
More Sales Comparison Questions
Excess land differs from surplus land in that excess land:
A paired sales analysis reveals that homes with stainless-steel appliances sell for $2,100 more than identical homes with standard appliances — but only when the homes are priced below $350,000. In the subject’s neighborhood, median sale price is $410,000. What is the appraiser’s obligation regarding the $2,100 appliance adjustment?
GLA differs by 210 sq ft between subject and comparable. Paired sales support $65 per sq ft of living area. The line adjustment is:
Paired sales are drawn from transactions six months apart in a stable market. The time adjustment needed is:
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Days on market for the comparables averaged 18, while the subject has been listed 140 days without an offer. This suggests:
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