Why might an appraiser check a listing service in addition to recorded transfer information for the subject?
Correct Answer
C) Listing history may show price changes and failed marketing absent from transfer records
Listing history can provide asking prices, marketing periods, price changes, and expired or withdrawn offerings that a transfer record alone may not show. Assess coverage and reliability, and investigate relevant history rather than assuming every source is complete. A failed listing does not by itself prove value or a price ceiling. Public-record content varies; it is inaccurate to say all public records contain only completed transfers.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option C is correct because listing history can show asking prices, price reductions, marketing periods, and expired or withdrawn listings that a transfer record alone may not reveal. Analyzing offerings and listings along with sales gives a fuller picture of the subject and of market trends. USPAP also calls for summarizing the analysis of the subject's listings, so this history belongs in the appraiser's research.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: A listing service provides a legally certified boundary and the recorded deed description
Option A is wrong because a listing service does not provide a legally certified boundary or the recorded deed description. Listing data is marketing information; legal descriptions come from recorded documents, and boundaries are established by surveys.
Option B: Public records omit related-party transfers, so the listing service is the better legal record
Option B is wrong because it claims public records omit related-party transfers and that the listing service is the better legal record. Public-record content varies, related-party transfers can appear in recorded data, and a listing service is not a legal record of title or transfers.
Option D: Listing activity by itself establishes the property’s current market value
Option D is wrong because listing activity does not by itself establish the property's current market value. Asking prices and failed listings are evidence the appraiser weighs, but a listing alone does not prove value or set a price ceiling.
Deed shows sold, MLS shows tried
The recorded transfer tells you what sold; the listing history tells you what was tried, including price cuts and listings that never sold.
How to use: Use this when deciding which data source reveals marketing activity that did not lead to a recorded sale.
Exam Tip
Choose the answer that describes listing data as supplementary market evidence. Be cautious with options claiming a listing service is a legal record or that listing activity alone sets value.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Relying on recorded transfer data alone and missing failed or withdrawn listings
- -Treating a listing service as a source of legal descriptions or boundaries
- -Treating an expired listing price as proof of a value ceiling
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests why an appraiser uses more than one data source for the subject's history. Recorded transfer data shows completed transfers, while listing data can show marketing activity that never resulted in a recorded sale. The correct answer identifies that added value without overstating what a listing service proves.
Background Knowledge
Appraisers analyze the subject's prior sales, agreements of sale, options and listings. Each data source has gaps, so the appraiser assesses coverage and reliability and investigates relevant history instead of assuming any single source is complete.
Real-World Application
An appraiser finds no recent recorded transfer of the subject, but the listing service shows it was listed twice in the past year, cut its price, and then was withdrawn. The appraiser reports and analyzes that history, considering what it suggests about market reaction to the property.
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