How to read the comparables grid, one row at a time
The grid in the middle of the report is where the value is actually built. It looks like a spreadsheet, and it reads like one once you know where to start.
What is the comparables grid?
It is the table in the sales comparison approach section where your home sits in the first column and recent sales of similar homes sit in the columns beside it. Each row describes one feature, such as location, site, condition or living area, so you can read across and see how every sale lines up against your house.
Fannie Mae requires at least three closed sales in this section. Current listings and pending contracts can appear as extra support, but they cannot stand in for those three closed sales.
Where should you start reading?
Start with the top rows, which tell you where each sale is and what it sold for. You will see the address, the distance from your home, the sale price, and the price per square foot of living area. Fannie Mae asks appraisers to measure distance in a straight line and give a compass direction, so a note showing miles and a direction is normal.
Next come the data source and verification rows. These name where the appraiser found the sale, such as the multiple listing service or deed records, and who confirmed the details. Fannie Mae asks for specific sources here rather than a vague label like public records.
What do the middle rows describe?
The middle rows describe the terms of each sale and then the property itself, one feature per row. The first few cover whether the seller paid any costs for the buyer and when the sale closed. After that come location, site, view, design, quality, age, condition, room count, gross living area, basement, and extras like a garage or porch.
Each comparable has two cells per row. The left cell describes the comparable. The right cell holds the adjustment, a dollar amount added or subtracted for that difference. An empty adjustment cell means the appraiser did not see a difference the market would pay for. Quality and condition often appear as short codes, such as Q4 or C3, taken from a standard rating scale.
What happens at the bottom of each column?
The bottom of each column shows the net adjustment, the gross adjustment and the adjusted sale price. The net figure is the pluses and minuses added together. The gross figure adds them all regardless of sign, which shows how much adjusting that sale needed. The adjusted sale price is what that comparable suggests your home is worth once the differences are accounted for.
Fannie Mae does not set a fixed limit on net or gross adjustments. Large totals are not automatically a mistake, but they are a good reason to read the appraiser's comments about why that sale was still used.
What is worth checking in the grid?
The facts about your own home, in the subject column, are worth checking first. Room count, bathrooms, living area and site size are easy to verify, and an error there flows into every adjustment beside it.
Then look at the sale dates. Fannie Mae generally looks for sales that closed within the last twelve months, but it accepts older sales when the appraiser explains why they are the better match, which is common in rural areas.
Finally, read the prior sales rows just below the grid. The report lists transfers of your home over the prior three years and of each comparable over the prior twelve months. A quick resale can explain a price that looks out of line.
How does the grid lead to the final value?
The adjusted prices form a range, and the reconciliation explains where inside that range the appraiser landed and why. Fannie Mae does not allow a simple average there; the appraiser has to explain which sales carried the most weight. For how each adjustment gets its size, see what the adjustments in your appraisal mean.