NYC DCAS CITY ASSESSOR (PROMOTION) EXAMINATION
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND DETAILED SOLUTIONS
LATEST UPDATE THIS YEAR JUST RELEASED
Exam Coverage
1. Real Property Valuation Principles — Market value, highest and best use, substitution, anticipation,
supply and demand, and other valuation concepts.
2. Sales Comparison Approach — Comparable selection, adjustments, market conditions, location, physical
characteristics, and reconciliation.
3. Income Capitalization Approach — Potential and effective gross income, operating expenses, NOI,
capitalization rates, direct capitalization, and valuation.
4. Cost Approach — Land value, replacement/reproduction cost, depreciation, effective age, physical
deterioration, functional obsolescence, and external obsolescence.
5. NYC Assessment Principles — Market value, assessed value, taxable assessed value, exemptions,
abatements, assessment limitations, and assessment rolls.
6. NYC Tax Classes and Property Types — Tax Classes 1–4, residential properties, income-producing
properties, utility property, commercial property, and special property categories.)
7. Maps, Surveys, and Construction Drawings — Lot dimensions, dimensions, scale, bearings, easements,
site plans, floor plans, building measurements, and interpreting construction information.
8. NYC/NY Real Estate Laws and Zoning — Zoning concepts, permitted uses, bulk regulations, FAR,
setbacks, variances, and legal/nonconforming uses.
9. Assessment Administration and Professional Judgment — Data verification, field inspection,
documentation, quality control, analytical reasoning, and consistent application of assessment practices.
10. Ethics and Reasoning — Employee integrity, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, impartiality, deductive
reasoning, inductive reasoning, and applying rules to assessment scenarios.
1.
When estimating the market value of a residential property using recent comparable sales,
which principle most directly supports selecting properties that buyers would consider
reasonable substitutes?
A. Contribution
B. Substitution
C. Conformity
D. Regression
Answer: B. Substitution
,Rationale: The principle of substitution holds that a prudent buyer generally will not pay more
for a property than the cost of acquiring an equally desirable substitute, making comparable
properties central to the sales comparison approach.
2.
An assessor discovers that a property's recorded square footage is substantially greater than
the actual measured area during a field inspection. What should the assessor generally do first?
A. Immediately reduce the property's market value without documentation
B. Ignore the discrepancy because recorded data cannot be changed
C. Verify the measurement and supporting property records before correcting the data
D. Increase the property's assessed value to compensate for uncertainty
Answer: C. Verify the measurement and supporting property records before correcting the
data
Rationale: Accurate property characteristics are essential to reliable assessment. An assessor
should verify discrepancies through appropriate records, measurements, and documentation
before making a correction.
3.
Under the income capitalization approach, which measure generally represents the income
remaining after deducting allowable operating expenses from effective gross income?
A. Gross rent multiplier
B. Net operating income
C. Potential gross income
D. Capital recovery
Answer: B. Net operating income
Rationale: Net operating income, or NOI, is generally calculated by subtracting appropriate
operating expenses from effective gross income before considering items such as debt service
and income taxes.
,4.
A property generates an annual net operating income of £120,000 for purposes of a
hypothetical valuation exercise, and the applicable capitalization rate is 8%. What is the
indicated value?
A. £960,000
B. £1,200,000
C. £1,500,000
D. £1,800,000
Answer: C. £1,500,000
Rationale: Under direct capitalization, value equals NOI divided by the capitalization rate.
Therefore, £120,000 ÷ 0.08 = £1,500,000.
5.
Which condition exists when a property's current use is legally permissible, physically possible,
financially feasible, and maximally productive?
A. Economic depreciation
B. Highest and best use
C. Interim use
D. Plottage value
Answer: B. Highest and best use
Rationale: Highest and best use is the reasonably probable and legal use that is physically
possible, financially feasible, and maximally productive.
6.
An assessor is comparing a subject property with a recently sold comparable that has a superior
garage and additional finished living area. What is the appropriate general treatment?
A. Adjust the comparable upward
B. Adjust the comparable downward
, C. Adjust the subject downward
D. Make no adjustment under any circumstances
Answer: B. Adjust the comparable downward
Rationale: When the comparable is superior to the subject in a feature that affects value, the
comparable's sale price is generally adjusted downward to reflect the subject's inferior
characteristics.
7.
Which valuation approach is generally most applicable when a property is commonly purchased
and operated primarily for its income-producing potential?
A. Income capitalization approach
B. Cost approach only
C. Replacement reserve approach
D. Land residual approach only
Answer: A. Income capitalization approach
Rationale: The income capitalization approach is particularly relevant to properties whose
value is strongly related to their ability to generate future income.
8.
Which statement best describes the relationship between market value and assessed value in
the NYC property tax system?
A. They are always identical for every property
B. Assessed value is necessarily the property's recent purchase price
C. Market value is an estimated value used in determining assessment, while assessed value is
determined under applicable assessment rules and limitations
D. Assessed value is determined exclusively by the property owner's mortgage balance
Answer: C. Market value is an estimated value used in determining assessment, while
assessed value is determined under applicable assessment rules and limitations
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND DETAILED SOLUTIONS
LATEST UPDATE THIS YEAR JUST RELEASED
Exam Coverage
1. Real Property Valuation Principles — Market value, highest and best use, substitution, anticipation,
supply and demand, and other valuation concepts.
2. Sales Comparison Approach — Comparable selection, adjustments, market conditions, location, physical
characteristics, and reconciliation.
3. Income Capitalization Approach — Potential and effective gross income, operating expenses, NOI,
capitalization rates, direct capitalization, and valuation.
4. Cost Approach — Land value, replacement/reproduction cost, depreciation, effective age, physical
deterioration, functional obsolescence, and external obsolescence.
5. NYC Assessment Principles — Market value, assessed value, taxable assessed value, exemptions,
abatements, assessment limitations, and assessment rolls.
6. NYC Tax Classes and Property Types — Tax Classes 1–4, residential properties, income-producing
properties, utility property, commercial property, and special property categories.)
7. Maps, Surveys, and Construction Drawings — Lot dimensions, dimensions, scale, bearings, easements,
site plans, floor plans, building measurements, and interpreting construction information.
8. NYC/NY Real Estate Laws and Zoning — Zoning concepts, permitted uses, bulk regulations, FAR,
setbacks, variances, and legal/nonconforming uses.
9. Assessment Administration and Professional Judgment — Data verification, field inspection,
documentation, quality control, analytical reasoning, and consistent application of assessment practices.
10. Ethics and Reasoning — Employee integrity, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, impartiality, deductive
reasoning, inductive reasoning, and applying rules to assessment scenarios.
1.
When estimating the market value of a residential property using recent comparable sales,
which principle most directly supports selecting properties that buyers would consider
reasonable substitutes?
A. Contribution
B. Substitution
C. Conformity
D. Regression
Answer: B. Substitution
,Rationale: The principle of substitution holds that a prudent buyer generally will not pay more
for a property than the cost of acquiring an equally desirable substitute, making comparable
properties central to the sales comparison approach.
2.
An assessor discovers that a property's recorded square footage is substantially greater than
the actual measured area during a field inspection. What should the assessor generally do first?
A. Immediately reduce the property's market value without documentation
B. Ignore the discrepancy because recorded data cannot be changed
C. Verify the measurement and supporting property records before correcting the data
D. Increase the property's assessed value to compensate for uncertainty
Answer: C. Verify the measurement and supporting property records before correcting the
data
Rationale: Accurate property characteristics are essential to reliable assessment. An assessor
should verify discrepancies through appropriate records, measurements, and documentation
before making a correction.
3.
Under the income capitalization approach, which measure generally represents the income
remaining after deducting allowable operating expenses from effective gross income?
A. Gross rent multiplier
B. Net operating income
C. Potential gross income
D. Capital recovery
Answer: B. Net operating income
Rationale: Net operating income, or NOI, is generally calculated by subtracting appropriate
operating expenses from effective gross income before considering items such as debt service
and income taxes.
,4.
A property generates an annual net operating income of £120,000 for purposes of a
hypothetical valuation exercise, and the applicable capitalization rate is 8%. What is the
indicated value?
A. £960,000
B. £1,200,000
C. £1,500,000
D. £1,800,000
Answer: C. £1,500,000
Rationale: Under direct capitalization, value equals NOI divided by the capitalization rate.
Therefore, £120,000 ÷ 0.08 = £1,500,000.
5.
Which condition exists when a property's current use is legally permissible, physically possible,
financially feasible, and maximally productive?
A. Economic depreciation
B. Highest and best use
C. Interim use
D. Plottage value
Answer: B. Highest and best use
Rationale: Highest and best use is the reasonably probable and legal use that is physically
possible, financially feasible, and maximally productive.
6.
An assessor is comparing a subject property with a recently sold comparable that has a superior
garage and additional finished living area. What is the appropriate general treatment?
A. Adjust the comparable upward
B. Adjust the comparable downward
, C. Adjust the subject downward
D. Make no adjustment under any circumstances
Answer: B. Adjust the comparable downward
Rationale: When the comparable is superior to the subject in a feature that affects value, the
comparable's sale price is generally adjusted downward to reflect the subject's inferior
characteristics.
7.
Which valuation approach is generally most applicable when a property is commonly purchased
and operated primarily for its income-producing potential?
A. Income capitalization approach
B. Cost approach only
C. Replacement reserve approach
D. Land residual approach only
Answer: A. Income capitalization approach
Rationale: The income capitalization approach is particularly relevant to properties whose
value is strongly related to their ability to generate future income.
8.
Which statement best describes the relationship between market value and assessed value in
the NYC property tax system?
A. They are always identical for every property
B. Assessed value is necessarily the property's recent purchase price
C. Market value is an estimated value used in determining assessment, while assessed value is
determined under applicable assessment rules and limitations
D. Assessed value is determined exclusively by the property owner's mortgage balance
Answer: C. Market value is an estimated value used in determining assessment, while
assessed value is determined under applicable assessment rules and limitations
