Your property has two different values.
One is what the house is worth as it stands today. The other is what the land underneath it is worth to someone who would build something new. On older homes with large lots in premium Massachusetts towns, those two numbers can be millions apart — and only one of them shows up in a standard listing appraisal.
This page explains how each number is calculated. It doesn’t ask you anything about your property.
Two methods, two answers.
As-is home value
Set by comparable sales of similar houses nearby.
- Rewards updated kitchens, baths, systems, and finishes
- Penalises deferred maintenance, dated layouts, and older mechanicals
- Largely ignores how much unused buildable land sits under the house
- This is the number an appraisal and most listing agents produce
Land value
Set backwards from what could be built on the lot.
- Starts from the sale price of new construction on the same street
- Subtracts construction cost, carrying cost, and the builder's required profit
- What remains is what the land can justify — the residual land value
- Condition of the existing house barely matters; it is coming down
How residual land value is calculated.
If the same property would appraise at $950,000 as a tired house on a big lot, the land number is the one that should set your price. If the numbers run the other way — a well-kept home where a rebuild doesn’t pencil — then the as-is value is higher, and a traditional listing serves you better. We tell you which case you’re in.
Illustrative figures only. Actual values depend on the specific lot, town, zoning, and current market conditions.
Six things that decide land value.
Larger lots — generally 0.75 acres and up — support a bigger home and are worth materially more per square foot to a builder.
The buildable envelope after setbacks, coverage limits, and height rules determines the size of home the lot can carry.
The resale price of recently built homes within a short radius is the single biggest input to residual land value.
Pre-1980 homes are usually valued as land, because renovating them rarely competes with rebuilding.
Two identical lots a mile apart can differ by seven figures depending on the street, the school district, and the surroundings.
Slope, ledge, wetlands, septic, and tree removal all reduce what a builder can pay for the land.