A site differs from land in that a site is best described as which of the following?
Correct Answer
C) Land improved and made ready for its intended use
In this question, a site is land prepared for its intended use, which may include grading, utility service or access work. Raw land has not received that preparation. In valuation, identify which improvements are already included in the site indication and which are separately costed, so no component is counted twice.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option C is correct because a site is a parcel of land that has been improved for its intended use. Preparation may include grading, utility service or access work, which raw land has not received.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: Larger than the parcel of land that lies beneath it
Option A says a site is larger than the parcel of land beneath it. A site and its underlying land occupy the same parcel; the difference is preparation for use, not size.
Option B: Any parcel carrying a recorded legal description
Option B describes any parcel carrying a recorded legal description. Raw land can have a legal description too, so a legal description does not distinguish a site from land.
Option D: Land held for investment rather than for building
Option D describes land held for investment rather than for building. Ownership purpose does not define a site; what matters is whether the land has been prepared for its intended use.
Site equals land made ready
Think of a site as land with its prep work done: graded, served and accessible. Raw land has none of that yet.
How to use: Use this to separate land from site in definition questions.
Exam Tip
Look for the answer that mentions preparation or improvement for intended use; size, ownership purpose and legal description do not define a site.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Using land and site as if they mean the same thing
- -Counting site preparation both in site value and as separate improvements
- -Thinking a legal description alone makes land a site
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests the distinction between land and site. Land is the raw earth; a site is land that has been prepared for its intended use. Recognizing that preparation, such as grading, utilities and access, is what turns land into a site leads to the answer.
Background Knowledge
Site improvements such as grading, drainage, utility connections and access make land usable for a particular purpose. In valuation, the appraiser identifies which site improvements are included in the site value indication and which are costed separately, so that no component is counted twice.
Real-World Application
An appraiser compares a raw acreage parcel with a finished subdivision lot that has street access, utilities stubbed and a graded pad. She treats the finished lot as a site and makes sure the utility and grading costs are not added again in the cost approach.
More Land/Site Questions
How should an appraiser account for a site's access to public sewer compared with competing sites that require septic systems?
Which fact, if supported by competitive-market evidence, most directly supports a unit-price premium for an otherwise comparable site?
A rectangular site's frontage is doubled while its depth is halved, keeping area constant. What is the likely value effect in a retail district?
A downtown site's zoning height limit is reduced from six stories to three. Buyers in this market had been paying for six-story development potential. What effect on land value is most supportable?
A zoning change increases permitted density from four to eight units per acre. What is the likely effect on site value?
Using the allocation method, market evidence supports a typical land-to-total-property-value ratio of 28% for similar improved properties in the subject’s location. An improved comparable sold for $825,000. What land (site) contribution is indicated by applying that ratio?
An appraiser is valuing a vacant site near a landfill. A similar vacant site that is not affected by the landfill sold for $480,000. Paired land sales indicate that proximity to the landfill lowers site prices by $70,000. No other adjustments apply. What is the indicated value of the subject site?
An appraiser is extracting site value from a $600,000 cash sale. The seller's records show an original construction cost of $250,000 and a depreciated book value of $110,000. The appraiser estimates current replacement cost new at $400,000 and accrued depreciation from all causes at $100,000. What is the indicated site value?
Three parcels assembled under single ownership (standard appraisal guidance assemblage) support separate as-is values of $290,000, $340,000, and $250,000. After assemblage for a higher-utility use, the combined site is valued at $1,050,000. Assemblage costs (demolition, legal, holding, and related) total $55,000. What is the indicated net plottage (plottage increment after assemblage costs)?
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?
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Previous Question
The subject property is a 2.0-acre vacant parcel. Recent sales of comparable vacant land indicate a price of $140,000 per acre. What is the indicated land value?
Next Question
An improved property sold for $675,000. Replacement cost new of the improvements is $510,000 and total accrued depreciation is estimated at $140,000. Using the extraction method, what is the indicated site value?