SELLING & REPRESENTATION
Selling a Unique Property When There Aren't Good Comparables
By Isaac Hull | October 17, 2026 | 9 minute read
Some houses are easy to price.
Others require an argument.
If you're selling a four bedroom house in a neighborhood where three similar homes have sold in the last six months, there may be plenty of information available to help establish a reasonable price.
But what about a farmhouse on 17 acres with a bank barn, spring, guest cottage and mountain views?
Or a historic house in Staunton that has been standing for 130 years?
Or a contemporary home tucked into the mountains outside Harrisonburg?
Or an estate in Albemarle County with a main house, several outbuildings and land that may have value independent of the residence?
Pulling three nearby sales and averaging the price per square foot probably isn't going to tell you very much.
Unique properties require a different approach.
The challenge isn't finding another property that is exactly the same.
There probably isn't one.
The challenge is figuring out which characteristics create value, finding market evidence for as many of those characteristics as possible and then putting the pieces together.
The Closest Comparable Isn't Always the Best Comparable
This is one of the first things to understand.
With a typical house, proximity matters.
If I'm evaluating a home in a Harrisonburg neighborhood, I generally want to know what similar houses in that neighborhood have sold for.
But the more unusual the property becomes, the more willing we may need to be to widen the search.
Imagine a historic home on 12 acres with a restored barn.
The house next door may have sold recently, but if it sits on half an acre, has no outbuildings and was built in 1987, its proximity doesn't necessarily make it a particularly useful comparison.
Meanwhile, a property 20 miles away might have similar acreage, architecture, outbuildings and overall appeal.
Geographically, it's farther away.
As a piece of market evidence, it may be much closer.
The goal isn't simply to find the nearest sales.
It's to find the sales that help explain how buyers value the important characteristics of the property.
Start by Breaking the Property Apart
When I'm looking at an unusual property, I find it helpful to stop thinking about it as a single thing.
Instead, consider its components.
The residence.
The land.
The location.
The condition.
The architecture.
The outbuildings.
The views.
The water features.
The privacy.
The road access.
The development potential.
The restrictions.
And any other characteristic that might meaningfully influence what a buyer is willing to pay.
This doesn't mean assigning a separate dollar value to every tree and barn door.
It means understanding why someone would choose this property instead of another one.
That's ultimately what we're trying to measure.
Acreage Doesn't Have One Value
This is particularly important with farms and rural properties.
Ten acres isn't automatically worth twice as much as five acres.
One hundred acres isn't automatically worth ten times as much as ten acres.
The land itself matters.
Is it pasture?
Cropland?
Woods?
Mountain ground?
Development land?
Does it have road frontage?
Water?
Views?
Division potential?
Is it under a conservation easement?
Can you actually get to all of it?
Two properties with exactly the same acreage can offer completely different utility.
That's why acreage should be evaluated in context rather than treated as a simple multiplier.
For buyers and sellers who want to understand this distinction more deeply, I discuss it in [Buying a Farm in Virginia: What You Need to Know Beyond the House and Acreage] and [Buying Land in Virginia: 10 Things Every Buyer Should Know Before Making an Offer].
Outbuildings Are Worth What They Contribute
Barns are a good example.
An attractive old barn can add tremendous character to a farm.
A functional barn with electricity, water, useful stalls, good access and a sound roof may also provide meaningful utility.
A collapsing barn may be something else entirely.
The same applies to workshops, equipment buildings, garages, tenant houses and other improvements.
Simply adding the cost of constructing a building to the value of the property usually isn't a very good way to think about it.
The better question is:
How much does this improvement contribute to the desirability and usefulness of the property in this market?
That isn't always easy to answer.
But it's the right question.
Price Per Square Foot Has Its Limits
Price per square foot is useful because it's simple.
Unfortunately, real estate isn't always simple.
Consider two 3,000 square foot houses.
One is a beautifully restored historic home on five acres with mountain views.
The other needs substantial renovation and sits on a busy highway.
The square footage may be identical.
The properties clearly aren't.
Price per square foot can be one piece of information, particularly when comparing genuinely similar properties.
It becomes much less useful when people start comparing houses that share little beyond their size.
This is one reason I don't like reducing a complicated property to a single metric.
Condition Can Matter More Than Age
Old doesn't automatically mean obsolete.
And new doesn't automatically mean better.
A 150 year old house with updated electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing and thoughtful renovations may compete very differently from another house of the same age that hasn't been substantially improved in decades.
The opposite can also be true.
Some renovations look impressive in photographs but don't address the expensive underlying systems.
When evaluating an older or unusual home, understanding what has actually been done is often more useful than simply knowing when it was built.
I've written more about that in [Buying an Older Home in Virginia: Charm, Character, and What Every Buyer Should Know].
Views and Privacy Are Real, but Difficult to Measure
Mountain views have value.
So does privacy.
The difficult part is figuring out how much.
There isn't a standard adjustment for a Blue Ridge view.
A dramatic long range view from the house may influence buyers very differently from a seasonal mountain glimpse at the back of the property.
Privacy works the same way.
Twenty acres surrounding the house can feel remarkably private.
Twenty acres configured as a long narrow strip beside a highway may not.
These characteristics are often best understood by studying how buyers responded to other properties where views, setting and privacy were important parts of the sale.
There may not be a neat mathematical answer.
That doesn't mean they should be ignored.
Development Potential Can Change the Equation
Sometimes a property has more than one possible future.
A large parcel might remain a farm.
It might have subdivision potential.
It could contain additional building sites.
A second dwelling might be possible.
There may be commercial potential.
Or conservation restrictions may significantly limit future development.
Those possibilities can influence value.
But potential needs to be investigated before it is priced into a property.
A seller saying, “You could probably build five more houses here,” isn't the same as determining whether five additional lots can actually be created.
When development potential is an important part of the value proposition, zoning, access, subdivision history, soils, utilities, easements and local regulations may all deserve attention.
Income Potential Deserves Similar Caution
Unique properties sometimes have potential income streams.
A guest cottage might become a rental.
A farm may generate agricultural income.
A property might appear suitable for a short term rental.
A barn might seem perfect for events.
Those possibilities can certainly matter to buyers.
But there is a difference between existing income and hypothetical income.
Before marketing a property around a particular use, it is worth determining whether that use is actually permitted and whether the economics make sense.
Potential is valuable when it's credible.
The Market Doesn't Pay for Everything a Seller Has Spent
This can be one of the harder conversations in real estate.
A seller may have spent $100,000 on an improvement.
That doesn't necessarily mean the property is now worth $100,000 more.
Some improvements return more than they cost.
Some return less.
Some make the property easier to sell without dramatically changing its value.
And occasionally an improvement is so specific to the owner's preferences that another buyer places very little value on it.
The money spent is important to the seller.
The market is primarily concerned with what exists today and how desirable it is compared with the alternatives.
Those are different things.
Emotional Value Is Real Too
Unique properties often have long ownership histories.
Maybe the farm has been in the family for generations.
Maybe the seller restored the house personally.
Maybe children grew up there.
Maybe the barn was built by a grandfather.
Those things matter.
They simply don't always translate directly into market value.
A good marketing strategy shouldn't strip the property of its story.
Quite the opposite.
The history and character may be a major part of why someone falls in love with it.
But pricing still has to be grounded in what buyers are likely to pay.
The story helps explain the property.
It shouldn't be used to manufacture a number.
Sometimes We Need to Look at the Buyer Pool
Another useful question is:
Who is likely to buy this?
A 200 acre working farm has one buyer pool.
A restored historic estate has another.
A secluded mountain house has another.
A horse property outside Charlottesville may attract buyers who aren't looking at conventional residential properties at all.
Understanding the likely buyer helps us understand the competitive market.
What else can that buyer purchase with the same money?
That's a powerful question.
If someone has $1.5 million to spend on a farm or estate in Virginia, our property isn't only competing with the house down the road.
It may be competing with properties across several counties.
Sometimes several regions.
That's one reason unique property analysis often requires looking beyond an arbitrary geographic radius.
Marketing Becomes Part of the Pricing Strategy
Pricing and marketing are closely connected with unusual properties.
If the likely buyer lives three counties away, the marketing needs to reach them.
If the property's greatest strength is the land, the photography shouldn't consist of 42 interior photographs followed by one picture of a field.
If the barn is important, explain the barn.
If the property has a compelling history, tell the story.
If there are division rights or other meaningful land characteristics, document them carefully.
A unique property shouldn't require buyers to figure out for themselves why it is special.
Good marketing makes the value proposition understandable.
That doesn't mean exaggerating it.
It means explaining it.
Quiet Representation Can Sometimes Play a Role
Some unique properties have owners who don't want immediate broad public exposure.
An estate owner may value privacy.
A farm owner may be willing to sell at the right number but not particularly eager to advertise the property.
Another seller may want to explore interest before committing to a full public launch.
In those situations, a more controlled approach may make sense.
I've written separately about [Quiet Representation: When Selling a Home Doesn't Need to Be a Public Event].
But limited exposure has tradeoffs.
Fewer buyers may mean less competition.
The decision should be based on the seller's priorities rather than the idea that an off market property is automatically more exclusive or valuable.
A Unique Property Still Has a Market
This may be the most important point.
When there aren't good comparables, it's tempting to conclude that the property can be priced at almost anything.
It can't.
The absence of an identical comparable doesn't mean the absence of a market.
It simply means we have to work harder to understand that market.
We may look farther geographically.
We may examine different categories of sales.
We may compare land separately from improvements.
We may study properties with similar views, acreage, architecture or utility.
We may look at active competition as well as closed sales.
And we may have to acknowledge that the final answer is a range rather than a perfectly precise number.
That's okay.
Real estate valuation has never been as exact as people sometimes want it to be.
The objective is not false precision.
It's a well supported opinion.
Pricing Is Also a Strategy
There is another distinction worth making.
Market value and asking price aren't always exactly the same thing.
A seller may choose to price aggressively and allow additional time.
Another seller may want to position the property to generate stronger early interest.
A seller who doesn't need to move may have a different tolerance for market time than someone who has already purchased another home.
Those are strategic decisions.
They should come after we understand the available market evidence.
The order matters.
First, determine what the evidence suggests.
Then decide how you want to approach the market.
Selling Unique Property in the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia
Our part of Virginia has no shortage of properties that resist easy comparison.
Historic homes in Staunton and Harrisonburg.
Farms throughout Rockingham and Augusta Counties.
Mountain acreage in Page and Shenandoah Counties.
Horse properties and estates around Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
Older farmhouses.
Recreational tracts.
Homes with substantial acreage.
Properties with multiple dwellings or unusual outbuildings.
There isn't always another one just like it.
That's part of what makes these properties interesting.
It also means pricing them requires more than printing the three closest sales and averaging the numbers.
Sometimes the closest comparable isn't the best comparable.
Sometimes price per square foot tells very little of the story.
And sometimes understanding a property means looking at the house, land, buildings, location, rights, restrictions and likely buyer as separate pieces before putting them back together.
A unique property may not give us an easy answer.
But there should still be a reason behind the number.
And when it comes time to sell, that reason should be something we can explain.
Common Questions About Pricing and Selling Unique Properties
How do you price a property when there are no good comparables?
The analysis may require expanding the geographic area, looking farther back in time and comparing individual characteristics such as acreage, condition, architecture, outbuildings, views and location. The objective is to assemble enough relevant market evidence to develop a reasonable range rather than finding one supposedly perfect comparable.
Is price per square foot useful for unique homes?
Sometimes, but it should rarely be used by itself. Price per square foot becomes less meaningful when properties differ substantially in land, condition, location, architecture, views or other important characteristics.
Can a comparable property be in another county?
It can sometimes be useful, particularly for unusual rural or estate properties. Local market differences still need to be considered, but a property farther away that shares important characteristics may provide more useful information than a nearby sale that is fundamentally different.
How much value does a barn add to a property?
There isn't a standard answer. Condition, size, functionality, access, utilities and the likely buyer all influence how much a barn contributes to a property's overall appeal and value.
Do mountain views increase property value?
Views can influence buyer demand and value, but the effect varies substantially. The quality of the view, orientation, permanence, privacy and overall property all matter.
Should I get an appraisal before selling a unique property?
There are circumstances where a formal appraisal can be useful. A real estate agent's comparative market analysis and a licensed or certified appraiser's appraisal serve different purposes. Which one makes sense depends on why the valuation is needed and the complexity of the property.
Does a unique property take longer to sell?
It can. A distinctive property may have a smaller buyer pool, but market time also depends on pricing, condition, location, marketing and overall market conditions. A smaller buyer pool makes reaching the right audience particularly important.
About the Author
Isaac Hull is a REALTOR® serving Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, Staunton, Augusta County, Waynesboro, Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Page County, Luray, and communities throughout Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.
With more than 10 years of experience as a licensed real estate professional, Isaac brings a well rounded perspective shaped by a background in mortgage lending, residential and commercial real estate, land sales, construction, and small scale development. He works with first time homebuyers, growing families, investors, and clients buying or selling farms, estates, recreational land, and unique properties.
Isaac believes that informed clients make better decisions. Through this blog, he shares practical advice, local market insights, and straightforward explanations of the topics that matter most, from buying and selling a home to investment strategies, land ownership, market trends, and the unique characteristics of real estate across Central Virginia.
When he's not helping clients, you'll often find him exploring the Shenandoah Valley, enjoying the outdoors with his family, or discovering another corner of Virginia that reminds him why so many people choose to call this region home.
Continue Reading
[What Really Determines a Home's Value?]
[Quiet Representation: When Selling a Home Doesn't Need to Be a Public Event]
[Buying a Farm in Virginia: What You Need to Know Beyond the House and Acreage]
[Buying Land in Virginia: 10 Things Every Buyer Should Know Before Making an Offer]
Let's Talk Real Estate
If you're thinking about selling a farm, estate, historic home, acreage or another property that doesn't have an obvious set of comparable sales, I'm happy to take a look.
Sometimes the answer is fairly straightforward.
Sometimes it takes a little digging.
Either way, the starting point should be understanding the property before deciding what number to put on it.
Call or Text: (540) 435-0047
Email: hullisaac@gmail.com
Website: IsaacHullRealtor.com