In one Claremont purchase, three numbers appear in order and come from three different people. The listing price is the seller's asking price, chosen by the seller, often with an agent's advice. The sale price, or contract price, is what a buyer and the seller agree to in a signed contract. The appraised value is an independent appraiser's opinion of market value as of a stated date, usually ordered by the buyer's lender. They can land close together or far apart, and for a purchase loan sold to Fannie Mae the lender uses the lower of the sale price and the appraised value to size the loan.
Number one: the listing price
The listing price is a decision, not a measurement. The seller sets it, and the agent's comparative market analysis, or CMA, a licensed agent's opinion of a likely list or sale price, often informs it. A CMA is not an appraisal. Neither is a broker price opinion, which the 2010 Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines define as an estimate of the probable sales or listing price provided by a real estate broker or agent, and say is not by itself an appraisal. An automated estimate from a portal is not an appraisal either; it is a statistical estimate from records and nearby sales.
A seller can price high to leave room for negotiation, or low to draw several offers. Either way, the listing price records what the seller asked. It is not evidence of market value in an appraisal, because it is a price no buyer has yet agreed to. Some sellers of unusual houses, such as a pre-1940 Craftsman near the Village or a Claraboya hillside home, order a pre-listing appraisal to see closed-sale evidence from their own pocket before choosing a price; can an appraiser tell you what to list at explains why the appraiser still does not set the list price.
Number two: the sale price
The sale price is what a particular buyer agreed to pay, on particular terms, at a particular moment. It reflects that buyer's financing, the seller's timing, any credits toward closing costs, and how many offers were on the table. A cash offer is one form of it, and a cash offer is not an appraisal; it is one buyer's price on stated terms.
Terms matter as much as the headline price. The Interagency Guidelines define sales concessions as cash or noncash contributions by the seller or another party that reduce the buyer's cost, such as paying some of the buyer's closing costs, and say an appraiser must take their effect on market value into consideration. The Fannie Mae definition of market value describes a price unaffected by special or creative financing or sales concessions granted by anyone associated with the sale.
Number three: the appraised value
For a purchase loan, the lender orders the appraisal. The Interagency Guidelines say fee appraisers must be engaged directly by the regulated institution or its agent and have no direct or indirect interest in the property or the transaction. The lender is the client; the buyer and seller are not, which is why questions about the report go through the lender. Appraisal independence on this site explains the same rule from the appraiser's side.
The appraiser does read the contract. The Interagency Guidelines restate the USPAP requirement that, when the value developed is market value, the appraiser analyze, if the information is available in the normal course of business, all current agreements of sale, options and listings of the subject property as of the effective date, the date the opinion applies to, and all sales of the subject within three years before it. Reading the contract is different from aiming at it. The opinion comes from closed sales of comparable houses: in Claremont, a Village bungalow from older Village-area sales, a ranch house north of Foothill Boulevard from other postwar ranch sales, a Claraboya view home from a wider foothill band with view and grade explained. The Claremont area page describes those pockets.
The visit itself is typically 30 to 60 minutes for a standard single-family home, longer for hillside, custom, multi-family or homes with additions, and the report is typically delivered three to five business days from the inspection.
The three numbers side by side
Listing priceSale priceAppraised value
Who sets it
The seller, often with an agent's advice
The buyer and seller, in a contract
A state-licensed or certified appraiser
What it is
An asking price
An agreed price on stated terms
An independent opinion of market value
Date
When the house goes on the market
When the contract is signed
The effective date in the report
Standard
None
The contract
USPAP and the lender's definition of market value
What the lender does with two of them
For a purchase, the Fannie Mae Selling Guide on loan-to-value ratios divides the loan amount by the property value, and says the property value is the lower of the sales price or the current appraised value. For a refinance, it uses the current appraised value. So when the appraised value comes in under the contract price, the lender sizes the loan from the appraisal, and the buyer and seller decide what to do next: renegotiate, add funds, ask the lender about a reconsideration of value, the lender's process for asking the appraiser to reassess the report based on specific information, or change course. What happens if the appraisal is low covers those options. When the appraised value is above the contract price, that calculation still uses the contract price.
The appraiser does not work toward the contract price, the list price or any other target, and cannot tell you in advance where the opinion will land. The fee is set by the scope of the assignment, quoted before work begins, and does not depend on the value.
A fourth number arrives after closing
Once the sale closes, the purchase sets a new base year value under Revenue and Taxation Code section 110.1, enrolled for a Claremont house by the Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor. Under section 110, the purchase price is rebuttably presumed to be full cash value if the terms were negotiated at arm's length. That assessment is not an appraisal. Taxable value, assessed value and full cash value decodes what the county does next, and what is appraised value, and who is it written for covers the report's readers.
The four different numbers guide compares every value a Claremont owner is likely to see, and the cluster is in the value types knowledge center. A buyer who wants an independent opinion before committing can read about a pre-purchase appraisal. To confirm which document you need, start with appraisal vs. estimate or call (909) 324-6122.
Sources
- Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines, 75 Federal Register 77450 (December 10, 2010), including Appendix D, Glossary of Terms (accessed November 6, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.1-01, Definition of Market Value (accessed November 6, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-1.2-01, Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratios (accessed November 6, 2026)
- California Revenue and Taxation Code section 110 (accessed November 6, 2026)
- California Revenue and Taxation Code section 110.1 (accessed November 6, 2026)
- Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor (accessed November 6, 2026)
Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877 (lookup: https://www2.brea.ca.gov/breasearch/faces/party/view.xhtml?id=23601). Reports are prepared in conformity with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). Nothing here is legal or tax advice; admissibility is always the court's decision.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between listing price, sale price and appraised value?
The listing price is the seller's asking price. The sale price is what the buyer and seller agree to in a signed contract, on stated terms. The appraised value is an independent appraiser's opinion of market value as of a stated effective date, usually ordered by the buyer's lender. Each comes from a different person for a different purpose.
Does the appraiser see the purchase contract?
Yes. When the value being developed is market value, USPAP, as restated in the 2010 Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines, requires the appraiser to analyze, where available in the normal course of business, current agreements of sale, options and listings of the property, and its sales in the three years before the effective date. Reading the contract is not the same as aiming at it; the opinion comes from closed comparable sales.
What happens if the appraised value is lower than the sale price?
For a purchase loan, the Fannie Mae Selling Guide calculates the loan-to-value ratio using the lower of the sales price or the current appraised value, so the loan is sized from the appraisal. The buyer and seller then decide whether to renegotiate, add funds, ask the lender about a reconsideration of value, or change course.
Is the listing price evidence of market value?
No. A listing price is what a seller asked, often informed by an agent's comparative market analysis, which is not an appraisal. An appraisal of market value rests on closed sales of comparable houses. The appraiser analyzes the subject's current listing as part of its history, but an asking price no buyer has agreed to is not a comparable sale.
Who orders the appraisal when I buy a house with a loan?
The lender. The Interagency Guidelines say fee appraisers must be engaged directly by the regulated institution or its agent and have no interest in the property or the transaction. The lender is the appraiser's client, so questions about the report go through the lender, not to the appraiser directly.
