Comparative Intelligence
A disputed valuation should not be reviewed in isolation
Vestal Analytics has assembled and analyzed our IRS Conservation Easement valuations database, spanning six years and growing. The database makes it possible to compare recurring methodologies, assumptions, documentation practices, personnel, certifications, and outcomes across properties and easement types.
Areas represented in the research
Easement types and economic uses
- Geology, mining, minerals, and aggregate resources, including granite, sand, limestone, clay and iron ore
- Solar-Energy
- Residential, Commercial and Related Land development
- Historic Preservation easements
- Commodities and other property specific economic uses
Questions the comparisons help identify
What the comparisons surface
- How the taxpayer value, IRS value, and reduction percentage compare with relevant peer groups
- Whether reports invoke the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, the Internal Revenue Manual, or other stated requirements
- Whether the work relied on site visits, fieldwork, drilling, cores, feasibility studies, market analysis, or desk review
- Whether stated credentials and professional roles match the work performed
- Whether personnel, reviewers, firms, comparable selections, methodologies, report language, or timing recur across the data
- Whether the subject property or related report characteristics appear elsewhere in the database
Context, not conclusions
Why comparison creates value
Patterns across our database allow clients to see how a specific report’s methods, personnel, fieldwork, certifications, and stated standards compare with its peers, and which questions deserve closer review by a licensed professional. The comparison informs the property specific record; it does not replace it.
Explore the approach
Ask how the database applies to the valuation and property characteristics in your matter.