Historical appraisal in Tempe is strongest when the selected period is treated as its own market rather than as an old version of today's value. A nearby detached sale usually answers a different question. The assignment should describe the property and market of the selected period, not simply discount or inflate a current value backward.
Historical valuation should not be a current value pushed backward by a percentage. The assignment needs evidence from the selected period, including the subject's condition, property rights, competitive setting, and the alternatives buyers actually had. For Tempe, the appraisal should consider attached housing only when it changes the subject's competitive position.
In the period being valued, a nearby detached sale usually answers a different question. Attached housing should be compared through project age, HOA obligations, parking, unit position, amenities, ownership restrictions, and competing inventory. The earlier market may require a different comparable pool from the one that would make sense today.
An old sale is not automatically a good historical comparable. The appraiser should understand the transaction, the neighborhood stage, the property's condition, and whether the sale reflected the same residential market during the period being studied.
Historical maps, listings, permits, photos, and ownership records can prevent later development or remodeling from being projected backward. The strongest record links those documents to market evidence from the same period.
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