Reconciling the Grid
~10 min read · Weight adjusted sale prices by reliability — never a simple average.
The grid's last act is judgment: reconcile three adjusted prices into one indication by weighting reliability — never averaging — and let the gross-adjustment percentages, data quality, and independence of the comps decide who speaks loudest.
Weighting by reliability
Adjusted comp prices form a range; reconciliation assigns weight by reliability: fewest and smallest adjustments (low gross percentage), best-verified data, most recent sale, most competitive location, and most independent evidence. A comp adjusted 30% gross was rebuilt by arithmetic — it corroborates but should not lead. State the reasoning: 'greatest weight to Comp 2 (gross 6%, closed 30 days ago, same model)' is reconciliation; '(A+B+C)/3' is surrender.
- Weight = reliability: gross %, verification, recency, similarity
- Low-gross comps lead; high-gross comps corroborate
- Explain the weighting in the report
Range logic and value opinion
A tight adjusted range (490–498) signals good comps and supports a point conclusion near the weighted center. A loose range (450–520) signals missed adjustments, bad pairs, or a heterogeneous market — reconcile by diagnosing WHY before choosing. The final indication may legitimately sit anywhere within the range the best evidence supports — including at an end, if the strongest comp sits there. Rounding conventions (nearest $1,000–$5,000) reflect honest precision.
- Tight range validates the grid; loose range demands diagnosis
- The best comp may pull the conclusion off-center
- Round to honest precision
Sanity checks
Before signing: consistency (same feature, same dollars across comps), direction audit (every CBS/CPA call), the subject's list history and pending contract analyzed (a contract above the indication is data, not an order), and cross-approach reconciliation where cost or income indications exist. The sales comparison indication then joins final reconciliation with whatever weight the property type gives it — for standard residential, usually the lead.
Worked example
Adjusted prices: Comp 1 $492,400 (gross 5%, verified with the listing agent, closed 3 weeks ago, same street); Comp 2 $505,900 (gross 22%, REO-adjacent data thin); Comp 3 $494,800 (gross 9%, two months old, competing subdivision). The subject is under contract at $509,000. Reconcile.
Reliability ranking: Comp 1 leads (minimal adjustment, best verification, most recent, same micro-location); Comp 3 corroborates closely; Comp 2's 22% gross and thin data demote it to bracketing duty. The two reliable indications cluster at 492–495: the reconciled opinion lands near $493,000–$494,000, weighted toward Comp 1 — not the $497,700 average, which would let the weakest comp drag the number. The $509,000 contract: analyzed and reported (Standard 1 requires it), but a contract cannot manufacture market support the sales don't show — the gap gets explained, not chased. Judgment, stated reasons, honest rounding: $493,000.
Common exam pitfalls
Averaging the adjusted prices.
Reconciliation is weighted judgment — the mean gives your worst comp equal say.
Chasing the contract price.
The pending contract is analyzed as data; the opinion follows market evidence, wherever that lands.
Ignoring what a loose range is telling you.
Wide spreads mean grid problems — find the missed adjustment or bad comp before reconciling.
Rank them, weight them, explain them — the best-supported comp speaks loudest, and no calculator votes.
Recap
- Weight by gross %, verification, recency, similarity
- Never average; explain the weighting
- Tight range = confidence; loose range = diagnosis first
- Contract and listing history analyzed, not obeyed
- Consistency and direction audits before signing
- Round to honest precision
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