How the verdict works
The checker uses a transparent formula: premium or discount percentage equals (quoted price per sqft minus benchmark price per sqft) divided by benchmark price per sqft, multiplied by 100. A project is marked Above market when it is more than 10% above the benchmark, Fair when it is within plus or minus 10%, and Below market when it is more than 10% below the benchmark.
Project mode compares the selected project's average price per sqft with that project's market-area average. Manual mode compares your entered quote with the selected locality's average market price per sqft computed from the same July 2026 dataset.