You're choosing upgrades for a home that hasn't been built yet. If the builder charges you for a feature, will that amount show up in the appraisal? Not necessarily. The builder's price tells you what the option costs; comparable sales help the appraiser determine what buyers pay for homes with that feature.
Here's what to look at before you finalize your choices.
An Upgrade's Price Isn't Its Appraised Value
A builder's charge reflects its costs, margins, and pricing. An appraisal asks a different question: what is the home worth in its market with the selected features? The appraiser doesn't add up your upgrade receipts and tack that total onto the value.
For appraisals subject to Fannie Mae's rules, adjustments for differences between properties must reflect the market's reaction, rather than a fixed percentage of what an option cost. A feature might add value, but the builder's charge alone doesn't tell you how much. What matters is the evidence from comparable homes.
What the Comparable Sales Show
The appraiser looks for sales that compete with your proposed home, including similar new or finished homes where appropriate. If buyers paid more for otherwise comparable homes with a particular feature, those sales can help support its contribution to value. If the sales don't show a clear premium, you shouldn't assume you'll recover the option's full price in the appraisal.
This takes local judgment. Worthington Appraisals serves Southern Utah and handles new-construction appraisals. A sale's location, the homes it competes with, and what the builder actually included in its price matter more than a regional rule of thumb about upgrades. In a new development, even a sale that looks similar on paper needs a closer look at its included finishes, upgrades, and any builder concessions before you use its price to judge another home. The available sales and their details, not a standard upgrade-return chart, shape the conclusion.
Why Your Plans and Option Records Matter
For a home that isn't finished, the appraiser cannot inspect the completed features. The current plans, specifications, and confirmed option selections show what is proposed. Fannie Mae's guidance for applicable proposed-construction appraisals calls for enough information to identify the home's quality, character, and proposed interior features.
Keep the version of the plans and option sheet that reflects your final choices. If you change an option after the lender has ordered the appraisal, keep the signed change order and send a material change through the lender or its appraisal-ordering channel. They can determine whether the appraisal needs an update. A change order in your own files doesn't update the report by itself.
Before You Finalize Your Builder Upgrades
Building a new home brings plenty of decisions, and upgrade charges add up quickly. Choose the features you want for the home you'll live in, but don't treat the builder's price list as a promise of appraised value. Keep your current plans and final selections in writing. If you make a material change after the lender orders the appraisal, document it and let the lender know through its appraisal channel.
Worthington Appraisals understands Southern Utah's residential markets and handles new-construction appraisals across Washington, Iron, Kane, and Garfield counties. The useful question isn't whether an option was expensive. It's what buyers are paying for comparable homes, with the plans and included features understood.
Have questions about your new home's appraisal or what information to have ready? Get in touch with Worthington Appraisals. You can also read about our new-construction appraisal service. We can help you understand the process and the records an appraiser needs, without promising how a particular upgrade will be valued.
If your lender is ordering the appraisal, follow its ordering process. A private appraisal does not automatically replace the appraisal the lender requires.