New USPAP Q&As published March 6, 2025

[timd354]

Choosing best comparable sales is the most important criteria. It sets the "close" range in price and adjustments would less factor in changing subject's market range.
Appraisers use experience in final reconciliation.

That is all fine when there are actually good comps available, but sometimes when appraising a proeprty in a extremely rural area, there may not be any good comparable sales. As I tell my underwriters, sometimes on an extremely rural appraisal they only thing the appraiser can do is to select the least bad comparable sales due to a lack of sales data.

 

[J Grant]

But I did so well with my decades of experience in adjusting based on my experience and using Appraiser's judgement. Oh well.

The fact that the appraiser has experience is an assumption that is baked into every report - however, there are ways to imply our experience and judgment informed our conclusion, and especially so in the resonant portion. ( some appraisers attach their resume to a report, I dont' but I suppose that is a silent way of showing experience )

I am not the most mathematically inclined appraiser out there, but I suppose my narrative, while not overly verbose, shows why I applied this adjustment or did not adjust, etc. As others noted, correct comp choice is crucial, and if the comps are bad, the best-supported adjustments made to them will still yield a misleading or off-value result.

Statements such as these imply experience: " Additional sales and listings were considered and reviewed." "The appraiser observed X difference between Comp 1 and Comp 2 subdivision, which was reflected in market prices." "Speaking to owners, RE agents, and builders in the area over the past several years indicates that pools are an in-demand feature" - and so on.

 

[Mejappz]

So in our next USPAP update class, we will spend $250 and 7 hours learning why "because" is not an adequate support for an adjustment.

See how easy it is to make money? Change a paragraph here and there and wala.

 

[Fernando]

That is all fine when there are actually good comps available, but sometimes when appraising a proeprty in a extremely rural area, there may not be any good comparable sales. As I tell my underwriters, sometimes on an extremely rural appraisal they only thing the appraiser can do is to select the least bad comparable sales due to a lack of sales data.

The least bad comparable sales are still your best comparable sales available.

 

[J Grant]

That is all fine when there are actually good comps available, but sometimes when appraising a proeprty in a extremely rural area, there may not be any good comparable sales. As I tell my underwriters, sometimes on an extremely rural appraisal they only thing the appraiser can do is to select the least bad comparable sales due to a lack of sales data.

Agree-

If the appraiser can only find a handful o f sales or listings, then the buyer is equally challenged. So, what do the buyers base their prices on? That is a good way to show off your market knowledge with a statement such as ( made up example ) - "Having evaluated properties similar to the subject for over X years and in interviewing buyers and RE agents and reviewing sold data, it is seen that buyers pay a premium for acreage fronting a paved road as well as for properties with a large workshop or detached garage. The subject fronts a paved road and has a 1000 sf workshop"

 

[Zoe]

I was once involved as an expert witness in a case where I opined a site value of $900,000 - based on recent sales on the same street and one street over.

The other appraised stated that he found no site sales, but "based on his experience" the site value was $600,000.

Care to guess what value the judge went with?

No not really but you trust waivers and hybrids also and commingling of appraisal fees.

 

[glenn walker]

Next Time you get on a plane do you want an experienced pilot or a guy/gal who did good in the flight simulators ?

We have witnessed recently three DEI Pilots land in Canada upside down.

My guess is they passed the instrument rating tests with flying colors but didn't have 20 years in the air......lmao

 

[George Hatch]

Atypical properties are atypical. Not just the physical attributes but on occasion it might also be the legal or economic attributes.

Meanwhile the market participants for some property types don't even make "adjustments" to begin with. They just rank the subject in the unadjusted range presented by the "as comparable as possible" properties they're aware of.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

I have to take your word. I never had anything stuck in my a*.

at 50, you are supposed to get colonoscopies every 5-10 years.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I take that to mean, 'you should never say you based an adjustment on experience.'

Heuristic analysis is impossible to avoid in almost any real estate setting. "Bracketing" is little more than such method. THERE IS NOT A SINGLE ADJUSTMENT WHICH IS A GIVEN EXACT FORMULAIC METHOD...NOT ONE. Each method is impacted by the imprecise nature of housing. No two houses are identical and if they were, they are unlikely to sell for an identical price. Who genuinely can find two houses identical with only one single feature different and reflected in the price? Yet paired sales are supposed to be so good. Even if a different price, you cannot CALCULATE that number. It can only SUPPORT your opinion, not PROVE it.

The very assumption of USPAP 's Q A is asinine.