The whole construct of "neighborhood" is a canard of the worst order. What do buyers start with? Well, if they have any sense, they will start with looking for something they can afford and qualify for. That's number one. That, in turn, determines how big, how old, and where the area lays. As pointed out, that isn't some monolithic area. The buyer is looking in a specific range completely divorced from a coherent "neighborhood."
A buyer may focus upon a single town, a single part of a town, and consider proximity to work above all. Some buyers want outside of a city limit, others want inside a city limit. Some are looking to get a condo and not have to mow their own lawn, etc. But do they have to have that specific condo? Probably not.
To me, proximity is the least important aspect of comparison. One should focus upon the dollar amount - something that is the very antithesis of what we've been told where price isn't to be factored in. Well, buyers are forced by their economics to focus on cost. And many a buyer rejected a home they like better because it was too far above their budget. Once we've found a price range, then we can dissect the area that the buyers want to live, and within that context determine the factors that are driving prices. Condition. No one wants to have to deal with a fixer upper unless you are simply someone with that bend or you are a flipper. Age and condition go hand in hand. Next you have to deal with size. Bigger is more expensive. Some buyers are looking for ordinary. Some have large families. Again, these different demographics cannot be pigeon-holed into one area, one "neighborhood".
The gist is that these are imprecise hence very subjective determinations and as appraisers we are second-guessing the mythical "typical" buyer. No one really knows. But no computer program, call it "AI or not", provides real heuristic judgments we make every day. Experience counts.
