Glossary

Adjustment Grid

Also known as: Sales Comparison Grid, Comparable Grid

The tabular presentation, standard to the sales comparison approach, that lists each comparable sale alongside a series of line-item dollar or percentage adjustments for differences from the subject property across defined elements of comparison, arriving at an adjusted value indication per comparable.

A well-constructed adjustment grid applies adjustments in a specific sequence — transactional elements (property rights conveyed, financing terms, conditions of sale, market conditions/time) applied cumulatively before property elements (location, physical characteristics, economic characteristics, use, non-realty items) applied in any order — because transactional adjustments convert each comparable to a cash-equivalent, current-market-conditions basis before property-level differences are addressed, and reversing that sequence can produce materially different, less supportable adjusted values. Reviewers evaluate a grid not only for its final adjusted range but for internal consistency and support: adjustments should be individually market-derived, via paired sales or regression where data permits, rather than uniform percentages applied out of habit, the direction of each adjustment should logically match whether the comparable is superior or inferior to the subject, and the gross and net adjustment magnitude for each comparable is itself a data point on how truly comparable that sale actually was. A grid requiring unusually large net or gross adjustments on most of its comparables is a common red flag in appraisal review, since it often signals a shortage of genuinely similar market data rather than sound adjustment methodology.