Land or Site Valuation

At the same effective date, reliable value indications support $800,000 for continued use of a property as improved and $500,000 for its cleared site. Immediate demolition costs $100,000. These are the only feasible alternatives, with no other costs or timing differences. Which alternative has the higher net value?

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?

For a numerical gross-income comparison only, a 10-acre site can be devoted entirely to retail, office or residential use. Retail yields $50,000 per acre annually; office yields $40,000 per acre; residential allows four units per acre at $8,000 per unit annually. Which alternative has the highest total annual gross income? Do not infer highest and best use from gross income alone.

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?

An appraiser's value indication for a whole property is $2,450,000, and the depreciated contribution of all nonland improvements, including site improvements, is $1,180,000. What land value does the extraction method indicate?

A right-triangular lot has a 120-foot base along its frontage and a perpendicular height of 150 feet. At $12 per square foot, what is the estimated lot value? Assume the rate is market-supported for this subject.

Three contiguous parcels used separately support market values of $165,000, $210,000, and $155,000. Assembled under single ownership for a higher-utility use (standard appraisal guidance assemblage), the combined site supports a market value of $595,000. Cash assemblage costs (closing, legal, and necessary demolition) total $80,000. What net incremental (plottage) value remains after those assemblage costs?

A 24-lot residential subdivision tract is being valued as raw land. The finished lots are expected to sell at retail for $95,000 each, a total of $2,280,000. All remaining development costs (infrastructure, holding, marketing, and entrepreneurial incentive) are estimated at $1,050,000; this covers all required nonland costs and incentive without overlap, and timing is not considered. Separately, a recent bulk acreage sale of a comparable unimproved tract indicates $980,000. Which pairing correctly contrasts the subdivision development (developer's residual) indication with the bulk-sale indication?

Comparable vacant sites support a market unit rate of $87,500 per acre for similar utility land. The subject site contains 9.6 acres and is otherwise comparable (no other adjustments). Applying that unit rate in a land sales comparison, what indicated land value results?

Two proposed uses of a 10-acre vacant site are legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, and have comparable timing and risk. An apartment complex would have a completed value of $15 million and require $12 million of all non-land development costs; a retail center would have a completed value of $18 million and require $16 million of all non-land development costs. The land costs $2 million. Which use produces the higher surplus after land cost?

An improved comparable sold for a cash-equivalent $980,000. Market allocation evidence supports a typical land-to-total-price ratio of 26% for competitive properties (standard appraisal guidance allocation method). What indicated land (site) value results from applying that allocation ratio to the comparable’s sale price?

For a vacant site, an office use would be worth $2,400,000 when complete and cost $1,950,000 to produce, including entrepreneurial incentive. A retail use would be worth $1,800,000 and cost $1,450,000. Which use and land value does this test support?

At the same effective date, three legally permissible, physically possible and financially feasible alternatives have supported net land indications after all costs, with comparable timing and risk: gas station $500,000; fast food restaurant $650,000; strip retail center $725,000. Which is maximally productive among those alternatives?

A commercial site has more parking than its zoning requires and than the tenant uses. How should the extra area be considered?

A commercial site is priced per front foot rather than per square foot because:

A rectangular site measures 150 feet by 200 feet. Assume the market-supported rate applicable to this site is $8.50 per square foot and no further adjustments are needed. What is the indicated value?

Sales of comparable vacant sites indicate a consistent price of $35 per square foot. The subject vacant site contains 12,000 square feet. What is the indicated land value?

A site is leased at a market ground rent of $24,000 per year. The market land capitalization rate is 6%. What land value does ground rent capitalization indicate?

A property has stabilized NOI of $217,000. The building value is $1,850,000 and the building capitalization rate is 8.0%. The land capitalization rate is 6.0%. Using the land residual technique, what is the indicated land value?

Ground rent capitalization derives site value from which of the following?

When applying extraction, which depreciation must be reflected in the improvement estimate?

A cash-equivalent vacant-site sale of $1,200,000 contains 40,000 SF. Market analysis supports its $/SF rate for an otherwise matched 35,000-SF subject. What value does that rate indicate?

A cash-equivalent vacant-site sale of $990,000 has 90 front feet. Market analysis supports applying its rate per front foot to an otherwise matched 78-front-foot subject. What indication results?

A comparable site with 80 front feet sold for a cash-equivalent $720,000. Market analysis supports applying its price per front foot to an otherwise matched subject with 95 front feet. What value does that rate indicate before any remaining adjustments?

A locally market-supported depth table allocates value of otherwise matched standard-depth lots among front-to-rear quarters as 40%, 30%, 20% and 10%. The supported standard-depth value is $400,000. Under this specified local model, what indication applies to an otherwise matched subject containing only the front half? This table is not a universal valuation rule.

Competitive vacant industrial sites support an applicable market rate of $45 per square foot for the subject, after all relevant comparisons. The subject contains 19,000 square feet. What land value does that supported rate indicate?

Recent vacant-land sales support a unit price of $42 per square foot for parcels competitive with the subject. The subject site contains 22,500 square feet. Per the unit comparison (sales comparison) application of a market $/sf unit rate to the subject’s size, what land value is indicated?

Competitive vacant land sales indicate a mean unit price of $42 per SF. The subject land area is 8,500 SF. What is the indicated land value?

Three parcels assembled under single ownership (standard appraisal guidance assemblage / plottage) support separate as-is values of $310,000, $285,000, and $255,000. After assemblage for a higher-utility use, the combined site is valued at $1,000,000. Assemblage costs (legal, demolition, holding, and related) total $70,000. What is the indicated net plottage (gross plottage increment after assemblage costs)?

A comparable improved property sold for $640,000. Market data indicate a land-to-total-property value ratio of 0.40 for similar properties. What land value is indicated by the allocation method?

Four parcels assembled under single ownership (standard appraisal guidance assemblage) support separate as-is values of $220,000, $310,000, $195,000, and $175,000. After assemblage for a higher-utility use, the combined site is valued at $1,080,000. Assemblage costs (legal, demolition, holding, and related) total $95,000. What is the indicated net plottage value (gross plottage − assemblage costs)?

Six finished lots each support an individual retail value of $48,000. What is the sum of the six individual retail indications, before any bulk discount, selling costs or absorption adjustment?

Three recent vacant-land sales of similar highest-and-best-use acreage closed at: Comp A $1,050,000 for 12.0 acres; Comp B $960,000 for 10.0 acres; Comp C $1,250,000 for 12.5 acres. The subject is 8.0 acres and is otherwise comparable after unit-price reconciliation. Per standard appraisal guidance sales-comparison land valuation using $/acre, what indicated land value results after taking the arithmetic mean of the three $/acre unit prices and applying it to the subject?

Three recent vacant-land sales of similar highest-and-best-use acreage closed at: Comp A $1,320,000 for 15.0 acres; Comp B $990,000 for 11.0 acres; Comp C $1,140,000 for 12.0 acres. The subject is 9.5 acres and is otherwise comparable after unit-price reconciliation. Per standard appraisal guidance sales-comparison land valuation using $/acre, what indicated land value results after taking the arithmetic mean of the three $/acre unit prices and applying it to the subject?

Two contiguous parcels used separately support market values of $200,000 and $300,000. Assembled under single ownership for a higher-utility use (standard appraisal guidance assemblage), the combined site supports a market value of $620,000. Cash assemblage/closing costs necessary to complete the combination total $30,000. What net incremental (plottage) value remains after those assemblage costs?

Vacant land may be valued by a multi-comparable median unit price ($/SF of site) applied to the subject’s site area. Five similar vacant comps support unit prices of $34, $36, $38, $40, and $43 per square foot. Subject contains 15,000 SF. What indicated land value by median $/SF results?

A rectangular lot is 100 feet wide and 150 feet deep. Required setbacks are 25 feet front, 20 feet rear and 10 feet on each side. Based only on these setback limits, what is the maximum rectangular building envelope?

A three-acre site has a maximum floor area ratio of 0.5. Based only on FAR, and using 43,560 square feet per acre, what is the maximum total building floor area?

An appraiser has extraction results from eight sales and wants a single land value. What is the appropriate step?

What is the principal limitation of the land residual technique?

Among the following highest-and-best-use criteria, which screens whether a proposed use is allowed under applicable restrictions, before selecting among financially feasible alternatives?

Agricultural land is being appraised where development pressure has begun to appear. What determines its value?