Four land sales are available. Which would normally be given the most weight?
Correct Answer
A) The best verified, most comparable sale with supported adjustments
Give greatest weight to the most relevant and reliable market evidence. With otherwise reliable verified sales, fewer well-supported adjustments may strengthen comparability, but adjustment count alone is not decisive. Highest price, recency alone and median position do not establish reliability.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option A is correct because the best verified, most comparable sale with reliable supported adjustments is the most reliable indicator of the subject's value. Sales needing fewer and less significant adjustments generally produce more reliable indications. Weight follows comparability and reliability, not a mechanical rule.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option B: The sale with the highest price per square foot among the four sales
Option B, the sale with the highest price per square foot, picks a sale by its price level. A high price does not make a sale more comparable or reliable.
Option C: The most recent sale, even though it lies in a different market
Option C, the most recent sale even though it lies in a different market, gives weight to recency while ignoring location and competitive market. A sale from a different market is generally less comparable despite being recent.
Option D: The middle-priced sale, since it represents the median of the four
Option D, the middle-priced sale because it is the median, uses statistical position rather than comparability. The median sale is not necessarily the most similar or best verified.
Most similar, best verified wins
Weight goes to the sale that is most like the subject and whose facts and adjustments you trust most.
How to use: Use this to choose the comparable that deserves the most weight in reconciliation.
Exam Tip
Choices that select a sale by price level or statistical position, rather than comparability and reliability, are usually distractors.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Weighting the highest-priced sale most heavily
- -Relying on recency while ignoring market differences
- -Picking the median sale as the most reliable by default
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests how to weight comparable sales in reconciliation. The greatest weight goes to the most relevant and reliable evidence: well-verified sales that are most comparable and need the fewest, best-supported adjustments. Price level, recency alone or median position do not establish reliability.
Background Knowledge
In reconciliation, the appraiser evaluates the adjustments made to each comparable and gives the greatest weight to the sales closest in comparability to the subject. Verification of sale terms and conditions supports reliability. Adjustment count alone is not decisive, but fewer well-supported adjustments often strengthen an indication.
Real-World Application
An appraiser has four land sales, one of which is in the same subdivision, was verified with both parties and needs only a small supported time adjustment. The appraiser gives that sale the most weight, even though another sale is more recent but from a different market area.
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