The subject site has 85 feet of frontage. Similar sites in the market area sell for $3,200 per front foot. What land value does the front-foot method indicate?
Correct Answer
C) $272,000
Value = 85 front feet × $3,200/front feet = $272,000. The indicated result is $272,000. Common errors: misplacing the decimal in the frontage gives $27,200; misplacing the decimal in the rate gives $2,720,000; reporting the unit rate instead of the total gives $3,200.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option C is correct because front-foot value equals frontage times the unit price: 85 front feet x $3,200 per front foot = $272,000. Price per front foot is a recognized unit of comparison for vacant land. Both figures are in front feet, so the multiplication is direct.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: $3,200
Option A, $3,200, reports the unit price per front foot instead of the total. The total is 85 x $3,200 = $272,000.
Option B: $27,200
Option B, $27,200, misplaces the decimal in the frontage, equivalent to 8.5 feet x $3,200 = $27,200. The correct calculation is 85 x $3,200 = $272,000.
Option D: $2,720,000
Option D, $2,720,000, misplaces the decimal in the rate, effectively using $32,000 per front foot: 85 x $32,000 = $2,720,000. The correct figure is 85 x $3,200 = $272,000.
Feet on the street
Front-foot value counts the feet on the street and multiplies by the price per foot.
How to use: Use this phrase to recall that front-foot value depends on frontage, not total area.
Exam Tip
Round mentally, for example 85 x 3,000 = 255,000, to confirm the answer is in the hundreds of thousands.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Reporting the unit price as the total value
- -Misplacing a decimal in frontage or rate
- -Applying a front-foot rate to total square footage
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests the front-foot unit of comparison. The supported price per front foot is multiplied by the subject's frontage. Careful handling of decimals gives the indicated land value.
Background Knowledge
The front-foot method is used where street frontage drives value, such as retail strips and lakefront lots. The appraiser derives a price per front foot from comparable sales and applies it to the subject's frontage. Depth differences may require separate adjustment.
Real-World Application
An appraiser values a lakefront lot where buyers pay mainly for shoreline. Recent sales are analyzed on a price per front foot of water frontage, and that rate is applied to the subject's frontage.
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Previous Question
An appraiser is valuing a residential lot. Five recent sales of comparable vacant lots adjust to a narrow range around $210,000, and extraction from one heavily improved sale in the same area indicates $165,000. What is the most appropriate reconciliation?
Next Question
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