With a typical appraisal, an appraiser uses a ‘Sales Comparison Approach’ and identifies recent comparable home sales, usually within the same neighborhood. However, these comparables for new construction homes in new subdivision developments are often not listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and are more difficult to locate and verify the sales data.
It is often necessary to utilize homes that are not new and make adjustments based on the accrued depreciation. It is also important for the appraiser to include sales of similar homes from competing builders to demonstrate marketability of the home.