What is a Summary Appraisal Report?

Short Answer

Note: This page details the former Summary Appraisal Report. As of 2014, USPAP only addresses Restricted Appraisal Report and Appraisal Report. Summary and Self-Contained reports are no longer addressed. Refer to the Appraisal Report page for updated changes.

A Summary Appraisal Report contains a moderate level of detail.

Detailed Answer

This is the most common appraisal report within the industry because it satisfies the needs of lenders and large institutions, without getting into a high level of detail. Summary Appraisal Reports can have one, two, or three approaches to value, depending on the situation of the property and use of the appraisal. In contrast with a Restricted Use Report, a Summary Report provides more information. In comparison to a Self-Contained Report, a Summary Report provides less information.

Advantages

The main advantage of a Summary Appraisal Report is that it offers a good balance between cost and reporting detail. As a result, it is the best fit for most people ordering a commercial appraisal. It highlights and summarizes the pertinent details and information, without being overly arduous and time consuming to read.  Many times, the client wants a general overview of the various factors affecting value, but they don’t want pages on end of statistical data.  Thus, the Summary Report is a good balance between cost and level of detail.

Disadvantages

The only disadvantage of a Summary Appraisal Report, if any, is that it must be completed by a real person (not computer generated). This means that within the foreseeable future, there will be no websites that can generate a legitimate Summary Report by simply typing in your property parameters.

Summary Appraisal Report Formats

Summary appraisal reports can be completed via two formats: Narrative or Form. The main difference between the two formats, is the level of detail provided.

Related Topics

Refer to our Value Vault resource section for additional appraisal definitions and appraisal related topics.