source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-sel-b4-1.3-09
  authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-09 — Adjustments to Comparable Sales
  description: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-09 — Adjustments to Comparable Sales.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-sel-b4-1.3-09-full
  canonical_id: fnma-sel-b4-1.3-09-full
  section: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-09 — Adjustments to Comparable Sales
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - selling-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-09 — Adjustments to Comparable Sales
    source_class: fnma-guide
    source_url: https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/selling-guide
    snapshot_id: 5f7b8b79da595d76
    fetched_at: '2026-05-25T14:09:57Z'
    content_hash: sha256:98cf85a02861bbe84914a0e339b327c8fc131869a8a573882007bbeea60c5701
    paragraph_quote: 'B4-1.3-09, Adjustments to Comparable Sales (06/04/2025) Introduction
      This topic contains details on selected adjustments to the comparable sales,
      including: Analysis of Adjustments Sales or Financing Concessions Market Conditions
      Analysis and Time Adjustments Appraiser’s Comments and Indicated Value in the
      Sales Comparison Approach Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 Policy Analysis
      of Adjustments Fannie Mae does not have speciﬁc limitations or guidelines associated
      with net or gross adjustments. The number and/or amount of the dollar adjustments
      must not be the sole determinant in the acceptability of a comparable. Ideally,
      the best and most appropriate comparable would require no adjustment; however,
      this is rarely the case as typically no two properties or transaction details
      are identical. The appraiser’s adjustments must reﬂect the market’s reaction
      (that is, market based adjustments) to the diﬀerence in the properties. For
      example, it would be inappropriate for an appraiser to provide a $20 per square
      foot adjustment for the diﬀerence in the ﬁnished above-grade area based on a
      rule-of-thumb when market analysis indicates the adjustment should be $100 per
      square foot. The expectation is for the appraiser to analyze the market for
      competitive properties and provide appropriate market based adjustments without
      regard to arbitrary limits on the size of the adjustment. If the extent of the
      appraiser’s adjustments to the comparable sales is great enough to indicate
      that the property may not conform to the neighborhood, the underwriter must
      determine if the opinion of value is adequately supported. (For further information
      regarding comparable selection, see B4-1.3-08, Comparable Sales.) Published
      May 6, 2026 584 When there are no truly comparable sales for a particular property
      because of the uniqueness of the property or other conditions, the appraiser
      must select sales that represent the best indicators of value for the subject
      property and make market supported adjustments to reﬂect the actions of typical
      purchasers in that market. Sales or Financing Concessions Comparable sales that
      include sales or ﬁnancing concessions must be adjusted to reﬂect the impact,
      if any, on the sales price of the comparables based on the market at the time
      of sale. For information related to sales or ﬁnancing concessions for the subject
      transaction, see B3-4.1-02, Interested Party Contributions (IPCs). Examples
      of sales or ﬁnancing concessions include: interest rate buydowns or other below-market
      rate ﬁnancing; loan discount points; loan origination fees; closing costs customarily
      paid by the buyer; payment of condo, co-op, or PUD fees or assessment charges;
      refunds of (or credit for) the borrower’s expenses; absorption of monthly payments;
      assignment of rent payments; and inclusion of non-realty items in the transaction.
      The dollar amount of sales or ﬁnancing concessions paid by the seller must be
      reported for the comparable sales if the information is reasonably available
      (see UAD Appendix D: Field–Speciﬁc Standardization Requirements, for data entry
      instructions). Sales or ﬁnancing data should be obtained from parties associated
      with the comparable transaction, such as the broker, buyer or seller, or a reliable
      data source. If information is not available because of legal restrictions or
      other disclosure-related problems, the appraiser must explain why the information
      is not available. If the appraisal report does not provide enough space to discuss
      this information, the appraiser must make an adjustment for the concessions
      on the form and include an explanation in an addendum to the appraisal report.
      The amount of the negative dollar adjustment for each comparable with sales
      or ﬁnancing concessions should be equal to any increase in the purchase price
      of the comparable that the appraiser determines to be attributable to the concessions.
      The need to make negative dollar adjustments for sales or ﬁnancing concessions
      and the amount of the adjustments to the comparable sales is not based on how
      typical the concessions might be for a segment of the market area. Large sales
      or ﬁnancing concessions can be relatively typical in a particular segment of
      the market and still result in sale prices that reﬂect more than the value of
      the real estate. Adjustments based on dollar-for-dollar deductions that are
      equal to the cost of the concessions to the seller, as a strict cash equivalency
      approach would dictate, are not appropriate. Fannie Mae recognizes that the
      eﬀect of sales or ﬁnancing concessions on sales prices can vary with the amount
      of the concessions and diﬀerences in various markets. Adjustments must reﬂect
      the diﬀerence between what the comparables actually sold for with the sales
      or ﬁnancing concessions and what they would have sold for without the concessions
      so that the dollar amount of the adjustments will approximate the reaction of
      the market to the concessions. If the appraiser’s analysis determines that the
      market’s reaction is the full amount of the ﬁnancing concession, a dollar-for-dollar
      adjustment is acceptable. Positive adjustments for sales or ﬁnancing concessions
      are not acceptable. For example, if local common practice or law results in
      virtually all of the property sellers in the market area paying a 1% loan origination
      fee Published May 6, 2026 585 for the purchaser, and a property seller in that
      market did not pay any loan fees or concessions for the purchaser, the sale
      would be considered as a cash equivalent sale in that market. The appraiser
      must recognize comparable sales that sold for all cash or with cash equivalent
      ﬁnancing and use them as comparable sales if they are the best indicators of
      value for the subject property. Such sales also can be useful to the appraiser
      in determining those costs that are normally paid by sellers as the result of
      common practice or law in the market area. Market Conditions Analysis and Time
      Adjustments How to measure and analyze (market conditions) are critical elements
      in determining an accurate value because the appraisal is based on a speciﬁc
      date in time (eﬀective date of appraisal). The comparable sales being considered
      must be analyzed by the appraiser to determine if there have been any changes
      in market conditions from the time the comparable went under contract to the
      eﬀective date of the appraisal. This analysis will determine whether a time
      adjustment is warranted. A speciﬁc time adjustment to a comparable sale(s) may
      diﬀer from the identiﬁed market trend since the determination of whether an
      adjustment is made to a comparable sale is based on market changes between the
      contract date of the comparable sale and the eﬀective date of the appraisal.
      For example, the 12-month value trend may indicate a positive overall trend,
      however it''s possible the market was stable (or declining) between the time
      period of the contract date of the comparable and the eﬀective date of the appraisal.
      See this illustration for Market Condition Adjustments. Comparable(s) sales
      with a contract date that is recent in relation to the eﬀective date of the
      appraisal will likely not have a time adjustment given the inability to identify
      a change in the market. The appraisal report must contain the market analysis
      that supports the indicated market trends, and any adjustments made for market
      conditions. Because the appraisal is for a speciﬁc point in time (the eﬀective
      date of the appraisal), the appraiser must analyze comparable sales for any
      changes in market conditions from their contract dates through the eﬀective
      date to determine whether time adjustments are warranted. Time adjustments,
      or the lack thereof, must be supported by evidence. Use of home price indices
      (HPIs) to support time adjustments is consistent with our policy. The adjustment
      rates can also be determined through statistical analysis, modeling, paired
      sales, or other commonly accepted methods. The appraisal report must, at a minimum,
      summarize the supporting evidence and include a description of the data sources,
      tool(s), and technique(s) used. Time adjustments should be supported by other
      comparables (such as sales, contracts) whenever possible; however, in all instances
      the appraiser must provide an explanation for the time adjustment in the appraisal
      report. When completing Fannie Mae’s appraisal reports, the appraiser should
      provide the date of the sales contract and the settlement or closing date. Only
      the month and year need to be reported. For example, appraisers may use “s04/10”
      or “c02/10” where “s” reﬂects the settlement or closing date and “c” reﬂects
      the contract date. If the exact date is necessary to understand the adjustments,
      it must be explained elsewhere in the report or in an addendum. If the contract
      date is unavailable to the appraiser in the normal course of business, the appraiser
      must enter the abbreviation “Unk” for unknown, in place of the contract date.
      Appraiser’s Comments and Indicated Value in the Sales Comparison Approach The
      appraiser must provide fact-based and objective comment(s) that detail the work
      performed and data sources utilized for the market supported adjustments used,
      especially for the characteristics reported in the Published May 6, 2026 586
      appraisal report form between the Sales or Financing Concessions and the Condition
      line items. A statement only recognizing that an adjustment has been made is
      not acceptable. When appropriate, the appraiser’s analysis should also include
      fact-based comments about a current contract, oﬀering, or listing for the subject
      or comparable sales, current ownership, and recent prior sales or transfers.
      Additionally, the appraiser’s comments must reﬂect his or her reconciliation
      of the adjusted (or indicated) values for the comparable sales and identify
      why the sale(s) were given the most weight in arriving at the indicated value
      for the subject property. It should be noted that the indicated value in the
      Sales Comparison Approach must be within the range of the adjusted sales price
      of the comparables that are reported in the appraisal. Uniform Appraisal Dataset
      (UAD) 3.6 Policy Lenders using UAD 3.6 must follow the requirements in the UAD
      3.6 Policy Supplement. Recent Related Announcements The table below provides
      references to recently issued Announcements that are related to this topic.
      Announcements Issue Date Announcement SEL-2025-04 June 04, 2025 Announcement
      SEL-2024-08 December 11, 2024 Announcement SEL-2024-07 November 06, 2024 Announcement
      SEL-2024-06 September 04, 2024'
  judgment: false
