A home listed at 2,400 square feet by the seller measures 2,180 by the appraiser. The report should:
Correct Answer
B) Use the measured figure and note the discrepancy
Why this is correct: The appraiser must report an independent, objective opinion of value based on verified data. The governing concept is that the appraiser's own professionally measured gross living area (GLA) is the factual basis for the valuation. Therefore, the report must use the measured figure of 2,180 square feet. Noting the discrepancy with the seller's listing is required for report transparency, explaining any confusion for users who have seen other marketing materials. Why the other choices are wrong: Adopting the seller's listing figure to avoid conflict is wrong because it violates the appraiser's duty to provide an unbiased opinion using reliable data. Averaging the two figures to 2,290 is wrong because it creates a fictional, unverified number not supported by the appraiser's inspection. Omitting the size from the report entirely is wrong because GLA is a critical, required element of the property description and valuation analysis. Exam tip: Your measurement is your data. Always use it, explain any significant differences from other sources, and never guess or average.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Using the measured figure and noting the discrepancy satisfies both obligations at once: the analysis rests on data the appraiser verified, and intended users are not left confused by a conflict they will likely notice. The appraiser's own measurement is the credible source because she took it and can support it from her workfile sketch. Disclosure also protects against a reader assuming an error. Where the appraiser can identify why the figures differ, explaining the cause is stronger than a bare note.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: Adopt the seller's listing figure to avoid any conflict
Adopting a figure the appraiser knows to be wrong to avoid friction is a surrender of independence and puts unverified data into the report. The seller's listing is marketing material, not verified measurement, and it may include area that measurement standards exclude. Conflict avoidance is not a permissible basis for any element of an appraisal.
Option C: Average the two figures to 2,290
Averaging produces 2,290 square feet, a number describing no house that exists and supported by no measurement. It also conceals rather than resolves the discrepancy, leaving the reader unaware that two sources disagreed. Splitting a difference is never a substitute for determining which figure is correct.
Option D: Omit the size from the report entirely
Gross living area is a required element of the property description and the backbone of the size comparison in the grid, so omitting it would leave the report incomplete and its analysis unfollowable. Removing a fact because two sources disagree is the least defensible response available. The correct handling is to report the verified figure and disclose the conflict.
Your Tape, Your Number
The measurement in your report is the one you took. Listings, assessor records, and prior appraisals are leads to check, never numbers to adopt. When they disagree with you, say so.
How to use: When a stem presents conflicting size figures, choose the option that uses the appraiser's own measurement and discloses the difference. Reject adopting another source, averaging, and omitting.
Exam Tip
Check whether the discrepancy is a standards difference before calling it an error. A listing that counts finished basement area is not wrong so much as measuring something different.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Adopting a listing or assessor square footage rather than the appraiser's own measurement
- -Including finished basement area in above-grade gross living area
- -Reporting a discrepancy without investigating whether it has an identifiable cause
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
Gross living area is a factual measurement the appraiser develops herself, and it is among the most consequential facts in a residential report because size drives comparison, adjustment, and often the price per square foot the reader will compute. A 220-square-foot gap between the listing and the appraiser's measurement is about nine percent, large enough to move a value conclusion materially. Discrepancies of this size have ordinary explanations: the listing may include finished basement or garage conversion area that measurement standards exclude from above-grade living area, it may have been copied from an old assessor record or a prior listing, it may include an unpermitted addition, or it may simply be wrong. The appraiser's obligation is to use the figure she developed and verified, because that is the data supporting her opinion, and to disclose the discrepancy so intended users who have seen the marketing material understand why the numbers differ. Where the cause is identifiable, saying so is better than merely noting a difference.
Background Knowledge
You need the definition of gross living area as finished, above-grade area measured from exterior dimensions, and the rule that below-grade finished area is reported separately. You should also know the general obligation to collect, verify, and analyze the data supporting the opinion, and the requirement that reports not be misleading through omission.
Real-World Application
An appraiser measuring 2,180 square feet against a 2,400 listing checks the assessor record and a prior listing photograph and concludes the seller included a 220-square-foot finished basement room. She reports 2,180 above grade, shows the basement area separately, and explains the difference.
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