What does validity measure in appraisal?

In appraisal, validity is primarily concerned with the accuracy of the measure. It refers to how well a specific appraisal method measures what it is intended to measure. For instance, if an appraisal is supposed to evaluate a property’s market value, validity ensures that the results accurately reflect that market value rather than measuring something unrelated like the property’s aesthetic appeal or a buyer’s personal preference.

When measuring validity, one must consider whether the appraisal results can be generalized to similar properties and whether it truly captures the inherent characteristics that define market value. A valid appraisal method will yield results that correspond closely with actual market conditions and comparable sales.

While other concepts like consistency and reliability are important components of the evaluation process, they serve different purposes. Consistency deals with how stable the results are over time or across different appraisers, and reliability refers to the degree to which an appraisal yields the same results under the same conditions. However, these attributes alone do not address whether the appraisals are actually measuring the intended value accurately, which is the essence of validity. Thus, the emphasis on accuracy in the definition of validity distinguishes it as the most appropriate answer in this context.