A broker opinion of value (BOV) is a broker's written estimate of what a commercial property would sell or lease for, built from comparable sales, rents and the income the property produces; it is faster and less formal than an appraisal, and it does not replace one where a lender, court or tax authority requires an appraisal. A usable BOV in 2026 shows a value range with a point estimate, a dated comparable set, an income approach and the assumptions that move the number, and it says how confident it is.
It is often the document that decides whether a deal gets an hour of anyone's attention. Many arrive as a number with a logo on it. This page covers what a BOV should contain, an outline to follow section by section, a real example with its confidence score, how to check one, and where it stops being enough.
Updated 13 October 2026; title, opening, outline and example added 19 October 2026; run-time table and FAQ added later the same day. Written by the Titleman team with AI assistance (Claude). Reviewed by Titleman's SEO/GEO review desk (AI-assisted, not independent of Titleman) before it went live; claims checked against the linked sources on that date. Titleman makes BOV software, so read the product mentions with that in mind. General information, not legal advice.
BOV, appraisal, evaluation: which one is which
The three get mixed up in lender conversations. The short version:
| Document | Who writes it | Standard it follows | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker opinion of value (BOV) | A licensed broker | The broker's own method; no appraisal standard | Pricing a listing, screening an acquisition, a refinance conversation |
| Appraisal | A state licensed or certified appraiser | The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) | Loans where the regulator requires one, litigation, tax and estate work |
| Evaluation | A person the bank judges competent and independent | The bank's own policy under interagency guidance | Smaller bank loans where an appraisal is not required |
Since 9 April 2018 federal banking regulators have let banks use an evaluation instead of an appraisal for commercial real estate transactions of 500,000 dollars or less, up from 250,000 dollars before (Federal Register, 83 FR 15019). The agencies' Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines describe what an evaluation must contain. A BOV can be an input to an evaluation, but a bank still decides what it accepts. The longer comparison is in broker opinion of value and appraisal.
The sections a usable BOV contains
| Section | What it must show | Quick check |
|---|---|---|
| Value conclusion | A range and a point estimate | Is the range narrow just because the comp set is thin? |
| Method | Sales comparison, income capitalisation, cost, or a stated weighting | Is the weighting written down with a reason? |
| Comparable set | Address or parcel, sale date, price, size, why it compares | Every comp dated and findable? |
| Adjustments | Location, size, condition, tenancy, timing, each shown | Can you apply them and reach the adjusted figure? |
| Income approach | Rent roll summary, in-place versus market rent, expenses, net operating income, cap rate | Does the cap rate say where it came from? |
| As-is and as-stabilised | Two separate numbers, with what has to happen to stabilise | Are the steps and the period stated? |
| Assumptions | Vacancy, lease-up timing, capital spend, zoning or entitlement risk | Are the three or four that move the answer listed? |
The value conclusion should be a range with a point estimate. A single number hides how much the evidence disagrees. A very narrow range on a thin comp set is not credible, and a very wide one on a dense set suggests the comparables were not worked; the width should follow how much the comparables disagree.
The comparable set needs dates. A sale from eighteen months ago and one from last month are not the same evidence, and a comp table without dates cannot be used.
The income approach is where a BOV can turn into a guess. A cap rate that appears without a stated origin is a weak figure, because it moves the value directly. For the terms, see what net operating income is and what a cap rate is; the definition itself is standard (capitalization rate).
As-is versus as-stabilised are different numbers, and mixing them is how a BOV misleads without lying. If a stabilised value is offered, the document must say what has to happen for it to be reached, and over what period.
A BOV outline, section by section
If you are writing a BOV rather than reading one, this is the order most commercial BOVs follow. Each section should carry the date of its figures and where they came from.
- Cover and summary. The property, the date of the opinion, who prepared it and for whom, the value range with a point estimate, and how confident the author is.
- Property description. Address and parcel, owner of record, land and building area, year built, zoning, condition and tenancy, each from a record or a document you can name.
- Market overview. Submarket rents, vacancy and recent trades, with the publisher and quarter of every figure.
- Sales comparison. Dated comparable sales, the adjustments applied to each, and the adjusted range.
- Income approach. In-place and market rent, vacancy, expenses, net operating income, and the cap rate with where it came from.
- Reconciliation and opinion of value. How the approaches are weighted and why, the range, and the as-is and as-stabilised figures kept apart.
- Assumptions, gaps and limits. What was not verified, which three or four inputs would move the number, and a plain statement that the document is not an appraisal.
- Exhibits. Comparable map, photographs, rent roll summary and the list of sources.
Section 7 is the easiest to leave thin, and the one a reader needs most.
A copy-ready version of this outline, filled in from one real run, is on the broker opinion of value template page.
A real example: one BOV on a Tampa warehouse
We published one run of our own as a worked example: a BOV on a Tampa warehouse that came back 45 out of 100. Read against the outline above:
- Property description: a 12,874 SF Class C industrial building from 1979, with its attributes taken from the marketing listing and labelled as such.
- Income approach: ten rent comparables and a cap rate band of 4.8% to 5.3%, enough to lead with income.
- Sales comparison: only two adjusted sale comparables, and the run said the set was thin.
- Assumptions, gaps and limits: a conflict between the industrial marketing and the zoning code shown on the listing, no rent roll and no condition record. The run scored its own confidence at 45 out of 100 and named what to get before anyone acts on it: a zoning letter, and a land comparable or cost estimate.
- Market overview: four brokerage reports on Tampa industrial for the same quarter disagreed by 190 basis points on vacancy, so even the market section depends on which report you read.
That is what a BOV looks like when the gaps are written down instead of smoothed over. It is a value opinion, not an appraisal: Titleman does not replace a licensed appraisal where one is required.
How to check a BOV you have been handed
Ask one question: can I rebuild the conclusion from what is printed here?
Take the comps, apply the printed adjustments, weight them as the document says, and see whether you land on the stated value. Then do the income side. Net operating income divided by the cap rate should reproduce the income-approach figure.
A worked example, with illustrative figures: a document states net operating income of 1.24 million and a cap rate of 6.5 per cent. Dividing 1.24 million by 0.065 gives about 19.08 million. If the document's income-approach value is 20.5 million, the arithmetic does not close, and the gap of about 1.4 million is being carried by assertion, not by the figures on the page.
Three more checks, a minute each:
- Are the comps real and current? Each should be findable from what the document gives you.
- Is the subject described from record, not from memory? Lot area, building area, year built, zoning district and owner of record exist in the property record and should match it.
- Does the document say what it does not know? A BOV that admits a thin comp set or an unverified rent roll tells you where to spend your own time. For rent rolls, see what to check in rent roll extraction.
Cost, time and legal status: BOV against appraisal
Published figures vary by source and market, so treat these as indicative, not as a quote. As of 13 October 2026:
| Aspect | BOV | Commercial appraisal |
|---|---|---|
| Typical fee quoted | About 250 to 2,500 dollars (rets.ai glossary) | About 5,000 to 25,000 dollars (same source); some firms quote 10,000 to 25,000 for large properties (American Investment Properties) |
| Typical time | A few days (rets.ai glossary) | Two to four weeks (Lev); three to six weeks in the rets.ai glossary |
| Regulated document | No. Not a regulated appraisal; some states restrict what brokers may value | Yes, by a state licensed or certified appraiser under USPAP |
| Accepted where an appraisal is required | No | Yes |
| Watch for | The broker may want the listing, which can bias the estimate | Longer wait; cost scales with property size |
The legal point is the one that matters: a BOV is an opinion, not a certified valuation. Where a lender, court or tax authority requires an appraisal, a BOV does not satisfy it, and rules on who may give a price opinion differ by state, so confirm locally.
When a BOV is enough, and when it is not
A BOV is enough to price a listing, to decide whether to bid, to open a refinance conversation, or to compare two assets before spending on diligence. It is not enough where a lender, court or tax authority requires a licensed appraiser, or where the loan is above the threshold and the bank has not accepted an alternative. If you are unsure, ask the lender in writing which document it will accept before you commission anything.
How long Titleman takes to produce one, measured
Minutes from the moment a run is created to the moment it is delivered, for production runs that finished, created 19 September to 18 October 2026 and read from the production database on 19 October 2026 at 12:01 UTC. Any questions Titleman asks and any queue time are inside the clock. Where a run has no delivery time, the time its credit charge was recorded is used instead. 2 of the 138 BOV at Scale runs and 3 of the 66 Value Opinion runs were timed by the charge record. The broker timings in the table above are published ranges from other sources; these are ours.
| Run | Finished runs | Median | Slowest tenth |
|---|---|---|---|
| BOV at Scale: 1 to 10 addresses in one run | 138 | 28 minutes | 52 minutes |
| Value Opinion: a defended opinion on one property | 66 | 45 minutes | 81 minutes |
The two products differ in depth: BOV at Scale returns a comparative table across the set, the Value Opinion a defended opinion on one building. A Titleman value opinion is not an appraisal. The method and what fills the clock are on how long a broker opinion of value takes.
Where software helps, and where it does not
The mechanical part of a BOV is assembling the comparable set, pulling the parcel and zoning record, normalising rent rolls and trailing-twelve operating statements, running the arithmetic, and keeping a source next to every figure. A machine can do that faster and more consistently than a person, and rushed manual assembly is a common place for errors to creep in.
Judgement does not automate: which comparables are truly comparable, and what the market is doing that the last six months of trades have not shown yet. That is the broker's contribution, and a tool should leave room for it. Titleman produces the mechanical part as a finished, paginated document where every figure carries its source, so a reader can rebuild the conclusion instead of taking it on trust. Time to produce one is covered in how long a broker opinion of value takes, and the product is described on the BOV software page.
Frequently asked questions
What is a broker opinion of value? A written estimate of what a property would sell or lease for, prepared by a licensed broker from market evidence, not by an appraiser under appraisal standards. It is used to decide whether to pursue, list or price a deal.
Is a BOV the same as a broker price opinion? The terms overlap. Broker price opinion (BPO) is more common for residential and distressed assets; BOV is the usual name in commercial real estate. Both are broker estimates, not appraisals.
Can a BOV be used for a bank loan? Sometimes as an input. Banks decide what they accept. Under the 2018 rule a bank may use an evaluation instead of an appraisal at or below 500,000 dollars, and a BOV does not replace that evaluation by itself.
What should a BOV contain? A value range with a point estimate, the method, a dated comparable set, shown adjustments, an income approach where the asset earns income, an as-is versus as-stabilised split, and the assumptions that would move the number.
How do I judge a BOV somebody sends me? Rebuild it. If you cannot get from the printed comps, adjustments and net operating income to the stated value, you cannot act on the number.
Is there a BOV outline or template to follow? Yes. A commercial BOV usually runs in this order: cover and summary with the value range and confidence, property description, market overview, sales comparison, income approach, reconciliation and opinion of value, assumptions and gaps, and exhibits. Each figure should carry its date and where it came from.
How much does a broker opinion of value cost? Published figures vary by source and market. As of 13 October 2026, one glossary quotes about 250 to 2,500 dollars for a BOV against about 5,000 to 25,000 dollars for a commercial appraisal, and some firms quote more for large properties. Treat these as indicative, not as a quote.