What is the exam-ready distinction?
| Roadmap post | 186 of 500 |
|---|---|
| Official syllabus topic | Valuation and Market Analysis: Principles of Value; Conformity |
| Official PSI area | Valuation and Market Analysis |
| Published weight | 8% of the 100-question national portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
| Content checked through | August 2, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes a weight for the complete official area, not a guaranteed count for this individual comparison. Use the source, document, actor, event, and timing stated in the question before applying a memorized definition.
Side-by-side comparison
Read across each row. The terms are deliberately compared on identical dimensions so the difference remains clear when the exam hides the vocabulary inside a scenario.
| Decision dimension | Progression | Regression |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Lower-valued property among higher-valued properties | Higher-valued property among lower-valued properties |
| Influence | Surroundings tend to support subject value upward | Surroundings tend to limit subject value |
| Related principle | Conformity and neighborhood influence | Conformity and neighborhood influence |
| Exam image | Modest home on a premium block | Luxury home in a modest tract |
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. An extensively upgraded home is located among smaller homes with much lower sale prices.
Reason it through. The subject is the higher-value outlier and buyers may resist paying the full improvement cost in that location.
Answer. Regression is the relevant principle.
Common exam traps
- Reversing the two directions
- Assuming cost equals added value
- Treating the principle as a fixed adjustment
- Ignoring comparable evidence
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1What is the likely influence on a modest home surrounded by superior homes?
- A. Regression
- B. Assemblage
- C. Progression
- D. Substitution
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. Progression
Progression is correct. Progression is the upward value influence on a lower-priced property surrounded by higher-priced properties. Regression is the downward influence on an over-improved or higher-priced property surrounded by lower-priced properties. Neither principle supplies an automatic percentage; market evidence must show the effect. The rejected choices are Regression; Assemblage; Substitution. Each misses the legal category or controlling fact stated in the rule.
Question 2An extensively upgraded home is located among smaller homes with much lower sale prices.
- A. Progression guarantees the upgrades add their full cost.
- B. Plottage applies because improvements were combined.
- C. External obsolescence must equal the renovation cost.
- D. Regression is the relevant principle.
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. Regression is the relevant principle.
The subject is the higher-value outlier and buyers may resist paying the full improvement cost in that location. Therefore, Regression is the relevant principle. The other choices fail because they replace those controlling facts with a neighboring concept or an unsupported absolute rule.
Question 3What should a candidate identify first when comparing Progression Versus Regression?
- A. Compare the subject with its surroundings and ask whether the neighborhood influence pushes the subject upward or restrains it downward.
- B. The option with the longest definition, without classifying the facts.
- C. A memorized Georgia rule, even when the question asks for a national concept.
- D. The answer that sounds most favorable to the buyer, regardless of the document or event.
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. Compare the subject with its surroundings and ask whether the neighborhood influence pushes the subject upward or restrains it downward.
Compare the subject with its surroundings and ask whether the neighborhood influence pushes the subject upward or restrains it downward. That sequence identifies the legal category before the label. Choosing by definition length ignores the facts, importing a Georgia rule can answer the wrong jurisdictional question, and favoring one party substitutes sympathy for classification.
Mastery tracking
Mark this distinction mastered only when every statement is true.
- Define every compared term without using the other term as the definition.
- Rebuild the comparison table from memory.
- State the decision rule and Georgia distinction without notes.
- Solve the worked example after changing one controlling fact.
- Explain why every trap and distractor is tempting but wrong.
- Answer all three original questions correctly in mixed practice on a later day.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Assemblage Versus Plottage. Continue to roadmap comparison 187.
Return to the complete exam-concept library or the Valuation and Market Analysis hub.