An appraiser is valuing a lakefront cottage in a seasonal resort market. MLS days-on-market figures for recent cottage sales are short, but many of those listings were withdrawn in the fall and relisted in the spring, which restarted the count. Which step gives the appraiser the most reliable view of how long similar cottages typically take to sell?
Correct Answer
B) Interview active lake-market agents about typical selling periods
Market value assumes exposure on the open market for a sufficient time, so the appraiser needs a realistic picture of typical marketing time. When relisting resets the MLS count, the reported figures understate it, and agents who handle cottage listings on the lake can describe how long similar properties actually stay on the market across seasons. The owner's estimate is not market evidence, and contract-to-closing time measures the closing process, not marketing time.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option B is correct because agents who list and sell cottages on the lake know how long similar properties stay on the market, including time before a withdrawal and after relisting. Their accounts correct the understated MLS figures and inform the exposure assumption behind market value.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: Rely on the average MLS days on market as the system reports it
Option A is wrong because withdrawals and relistings restart the MLS count, so the reported average days on market understates how long cottages actually take to sell.
Option C: Ask the subject owner how long a sale of the cottage would take
Option C is wrong because the subject owner has no broad view of the market and has an interest in the result. The owner's estimate is not evidence of typical marketing time.
Option D: Measure the time from contract to closing on the comparable deeds
Option D is wrong because the time from contract to closing measures how long a transaction takes to close after a buyer is found, not how long the property was marketed before that.
Relisted means the clock lied
When listings are withdrawn and relisted, add the time across listings; brokers can tell you what the total really is.
How to use: Use this when a question gives days-on-market data that may not reflect total exposure time.
Exam Tip
Look for the answer that gathers direct market knowledge when the facts point out a flaw in the recorded statistics.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Accepting reported days on market without checking for relistings
- -Confusing contract-to-closing time with marketing time
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
The question tests when interviews add information that the recorded data distort. The candidate must see that relisting resets the MLS count, so the reported figure understates typical marketing time, and that brokers active in the market can fill the gap.
Background Knowledge
Marketing time is the period a property would need to sell at market value, and it often varies by season in resort markets. Data entry practices such as relisting can distort days-on-market statistics, so appraisers check them against the experience of active brokers.
Real-World Application
An appraiser sees 20-day averages for lake cottages but notices repeated relistings. Two agents tell her that most cottages listed in late summer sell the following spring, and she reports a typical marketing time of several months.
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The subject is a three-bedroom ranch home. For the 12 months before the effective date, the monthly median sale price of competing ranch homes stayed between $286,000 and $290,000, rising in some months and falling in others with no sustained direction. Two unchanged homes resold during the period, one $1,000 above and the other $500 below its earlier price. Comparable 3 went under contract at $292,000 seven months before the effective date. What market conditions adjustment is indicated for Comparable 3?
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