The difference is the buyer and the arithmetic. Market value is what the property is worth as a house, established from closed sales of comparable homes to buyers who intend to live in them. Land value is what the parcel underneath the house is worth to a buyer who intends to replace the house, established by a residual calculation that starts with the future new build sale price and subtracts the cost of creating that new house and the margin for building it. In 30009 the two measures routinely describe the same address in different hundreds of thousands of dollars, because the average older home in the sample compiled for this report sold at only 25.4 percent of the price of a new build on a comparable lot (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Neither measure is the true one in the abstract. Each is true for the buyer pool it describes, and the seller practical problem is identifying which pool will actually bid. For renovated houses on ordinary lots, market value governs and land value is a floor far below the offers. For unrenovated houses on the large lots that define the Original Subdivisions, land value governs and market value, as household buyers compute it, is the weaker number. Of the 20 older homes sampled in 30009, 13 were acquired by builders (Frontier Capitals, 2026), so in this ZIP the second case is the common one.
This report defines each measure from the evidence that supports it, shows the worked figures behind both, and explains how a seller can establish both numbers for a specific address before choosing a route to market.
Key Findings
- Market value is anchored to closed sales: the August 2026 median in 30009 was 805,000 dollars at 98.0 percent of list on one measure, while a citywide reading recorded 850,000 dollars (Redfin, 2026; Realty.com, 2026).
- Land value is anchored to the residual method: a 1,100,000 dollar new build example leaves 420,000 to 470,000 dollars for the land after roughly 460,000 dollars of construction costs and a margin near 20 percent, before site preparation (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- The sample ratio between the measures is stark: the average older home traded at 25.4 percent of a comparable new build price, and a 279,000 dollar older home sat near a 1,100,000 dollar new build, an 821,000 dollar gap that is land, not finishes (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- Asking prices sit above both measures: the median listing price in 30009 was 880,000 dollars, higher than either closed median (Realtor.com, 2026).
- Which measure governs a sale is visible in buyer behaviour: builders acquired 13 of the 20 sampled older homes, a 65.0 percent demand rate (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
How is market value established for a Alpharetta house?
Market value is built from closed sales of comparable houses, adjusted for the differences buyers care about: condition, renovation, room count, schools, and setting. Its raw material is the recorded transaction, the deed and transfer history held by the county for every closed sale (Fulton County Clerk of Superior Court, 2026), read alongside published market data for the ZIP, including recently sold homes and new construction (Redfin, 2026). The August 2026 medians show the method output at market scale: 805,000 dollars for 30009 itself with sales at 98.0 percent of list, and 850,000 dollars citywide with 28 median days on market and sales at 98.2 percent of asking (Redfin, 2026; Realty.com, 2026).
Two cautions follow. A median is the middle of a pool, not the value of a member of it, and the pool in 30009 mixes renovated houses, original houses, and new construction into one figure. And an asking price is not a market value at all: the median listing price of 880,000 dollars (Realtor.com, 2026) records what sellers hoped, while the closed medians record what buyers paid. A homeowner establishing market value for a specific house should work from the closed sales most similar in condition, which is the discipline set out in how much a house is worth in Alpharetta in 2026.
How is land value established for the same address?
Land value is built backwards from a future transaction that has not happened yet. The residual method in the sample takes a new build sale, in the worked example 1,100,000 dollars, subtracts roughly 460,000 dollars of hard and soft construction costs, subtracts a builder margin near 20 percent, and treats the remainder, 420,000 to 470,000 dollars before site preparation, as the value of the land (Frontier Capitals, 2026). New construction on standard lots in 30009 has sold from 900,000 dollars to 1,600,000 dollars depending on subdivision, schools, and lot size (Redfin, 2026), so the starting point of the calculation is observable market evidence, not speculation.
The parcel evidence sits in public records. Parcel dimensions, zoning, and assessed land value for a specific address are held by the county assessor (Fulton County Board of Assessors, 2026), and parcel and permit records show the pattern of replacement building around it (Fulton County, 2026). Three factors then move the residual: lot size first, at a sample minimum of 15,681.6 square feet, roughly a third of an acre and the largest minimum in its batch, where some parcels support subdivision or guest house possibilities; the subdivision second, since established North Fulton streets carry premiums that appear in new build comparisons; and the GA-400 Corridor employment base third, because it supports the future sale price. North Fulton market summaries track that premium environment at regional scale (Atlanta Realtors Association, 2025). The standalone method is priced in how much a residential lot is worth in Alpharetta.
When does each measure govern the actual sale?
Market value governs when the house, as a house, is what the strongest bidders want. That is the renovated minority: homes whose kitchens, baths, and systems have already been brought forward, sitting in school areas where North Fulton demand gives live in buyers a reason to stretch (Atlanta Realtors Association, 2025). The renovation illustration marks the boundary: an 80,000 dollar kitchen and bath update on a 1978 brick ranch might lift the price by 55,000 to 70,000 dollars for a live in buyer (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A renovated ranch can sell within striking distance of new construction on a per square foot basis, which is market value operating at full strength.
Land value governs when the structure contributes little that the strongest bidders want. The same illustration completes the thought: the update returns 0 dollars if the buyer redevelops the parcel, and an unrenovated house on a strong street sells at land value minus site preparation cost (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Automated estimates blur this boundary, because home value data for 30009 (Zillow, 2026) averages across renovated and unrenovated sales and never runs the residual on the parcel. A house can therefore carry an estimate near its market value while its land value, the number a builder will actually pay, sits materially higher. Owners can test their own position with the steps in how Alpharetta homeowners determine whether their property is worth more as land.
How do the two measures meet in the seller net proceeds?
A seller does not keep either measure in full, and the deductions differ by route. On a listed sale at market value, commission at the typical 5 to 6 percent takes 22,500 to 27,000 dollars on a 450,000 dollar sale (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Seller side closing costs contribute another 1 to 2 percent, taking the combined deduction to 6 to 8 percent, or 27,000 to 36,000 dollars on that sale. Inspection reports on 45 year old homes routinely return 10,000 to 30,000 dollars in repair credits or reductions, repair concessions run 8,000 to 20,000 dollars, and carrying costs over three to six months add 12,000 to 24,000 dollars, which is why the sample ledger shows a 450,000 dollar list price netting in the high 300,000s (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
That net figure is the honest comparator for a land value offer. A direct land based bid inside the residual logic arrives without the commission layer, without the inspection renegotiation, and on a 7 to 21 day timetable rather than a 60 to 120 or more day listed timetable (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Sellers comparing a market value listing against a land value offer should therefore compare net against net, on the same date basis, rather than headline against headline. The gap between the two measures, which looks like a loss when stated as prices, often narrows or reverses when stated as proceeds.
What does an off market sale do with the two measures?
An off market sale is the mechanism that lets a seller collect the land measure without first proving the market measure wrong in public. Frontier Capitals sources off market deals to builders and does not present itself as a builder, and the bid it brings is built from the residual side of this report: parcel facts, new build comparisons, and a margin a builder can defend.
Privacy is the first term: zero showings and zero open houses, so the house is never publicly tested against renovated listings and found wanting in front of the street; the transaction stays private until the deed records (Fulton County Clerk of Superior Court, 2026). Flexible closing is the second: 7 to 21 days, or months out with a leaseback, against the listed timetable (Frontier Capitals, 2026). No commissions is the third, avoiding 22,500 to 27,000 dollars on a 450,000 dollar sale at the typical 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025). No seller closing costs is the fourth, addressing the 1 to 2 percent layer inside the combined 27,000 to 36,000 dollar deduction. No inspections or repairs is the fifth: the house sells as it stands, so the market value discount for condition is never itemised against the seller by an inspector report (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A seller can request the land side figure through the contact page or by calling 401-219-4207 or emailing [email protected], and hold both measures in hand before listing anywhere.
How can a seller establish both numbers for one address?
The work is record based and can be done in days. For market value, pull the closed sales of the most similar houses, in condition as well as size, from recorded transfers and published sold data (Fulton County Clerk of Superior Court, 2026; Redfin, 2026), and set the asking and sold medians, 805,000 to 850,000 dollars for August 2026 (Realty.com, 2026), aside as context rather than as the answer. For land value, pull the parcel record (Fulton County Board of Assessors, 2026), note the permit pattern on the street (Fulton County, 2026), and run the residual from the nearest new build sales.
Then compare the two on a net basis and on a date basis. A market value route that nets in the high 300,000s after four months, on the sample ledger for a 450,000 dollar example (Frontier Capitals, 2026), is not superior to a land route at a similar net inside three weeks, and it is inferior for a seller whose plans depend on certainty. The reverse also holds: a renovated house with a genuine live in premium should not be sold at a land figure, because its market value is the governing measure and the premium is real.
Methodology and limitations
The figures come from the sample of 20 homes in 30009 built in 1980 or earlier, 13 acquired by builders, with the average older home at 25.4 percent of a comparable new build price (Frontier Capitals, 2026), together with the August 2026 market medians and the county records described above. A sample of 20 is not a census of the ZIP, and street level variation in Alpharetta is wide, so both measures must be rebuilt from the records of the specific address before they are relied on.
The residual land range is a simplified illustration: one new build example, one construction cost figure, one margin, before site preparation (Frontier Capitals, 2026). It demonstrates the method and the scale, not the value of any parcel. Assessed land value in the county record (Fulton County Board of Assessors, 2026) is a tax figure and is not the same as the residual land value a builder computes, and automated estimates (Zillow, 2026) are a starting point for the market measure only. No forecast is made for either measure beyond the compiled 2026 data.
Conclusion
Market value prices the house a family will live in, from closed sales and medians that closed at 805,000 to 850,000 dollars in August 2026 (Redfin, 2026; Realty.com, 2026). Land value prices the parcel a builder will build on, from a residual that produced 420,000 to 470,000 dollars in the worked illustration (Frontier Capitals, 2026). In 30009, where builders took 65.0 percent of sampled older homes, the land measure governs more sales than most owners expect, and the seller who establishes both numbers, then compares them as net proceeds on real dates, is the seller who prices the property that actually exists. Which of the two numbers has been setting the expectations in your household, and which one would the buyers on your street actually pay?
Frequently Asked Questions
Can land value be higher than market value for the same house?
Yes. Where an unrenovated house sits on a large lot in a strong subdivision, the residual land value from the worked method, 420,000 to 470,000 dollars on a 1,100,000 dollar new build example (Frontier Capitals, 2026), can exceed what household buyers will pay for the house itself. That is the usual pattern behind the 13 of 20 builder acquisitions in the sample.
Is the county assessed land value the same as land value in this report?
No. Assessed land value is a tax record figure held with parcel dimensions and zoning (Fulton County Board of Assessors, 2026). Land value here means the residual a builder computes from new build sale prices, construction costs, and margin (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The two figures answer different questions and rarely match.
Why do online estimates sit between the two measures?
Home value data for 30009 (Zillow, 2026) is modelled from property characteristics and recorded sales across both renovated and unrenovated houses. It does not inspect condition and it does not run a parcel residual, so it blends the market measure and misses the land measure, landing between them for older houses on large lots.
Which measure should a renovated house be sold on?
Market value. A renovated house draws the live in premium that North Fulton demand supports (Atlanta Realtors Association, 2025), and the renovation illustration shows updates returning 55,000 to 70,000 dollars of value to a live in sale on an 80,000 dollar spend (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Selling such a house at a land figure would surrender that premium.
Do sellers pay commission on a land value sale?
On a listed sale, yes: 5 to 6 percent, or 22,500 to 27,000 dollars on a 450,000 dollar price (National Association of Realtors, 2025). In the direct structure described in this report, that commission layer is absent, which is why a land value offer should be compared with the listed net, in the high 300,000s on the sample 450,000 dollar ledger (Frontier Capitals, 2026), and not with the list price.
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189 neighborhood builder acquisition sample: 20 homes sampled in 30009, 13 acquired by builders, average older home price 25.4 percent of new build. Market data.
- Fulton County, 2026. Parcel and permit records, Alpharetta GA. Official record.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Typical seller commission structures, Atlanta-North Fulton market. Industry report.
- Redfin, 2026. Recently sold homes and new construction, ZIP code 30009, Alpharetta GA. Market data.
- Zillow, 2026. Home values and recently sold, 30009. Market data.
- Fulton County Board of Assessors, 2026. Parcel dimensions, zoning, and assessed land value records for 30009. Official record.
- Fulton County Clerk of Superior Court, 2026. Recorded deed and transfer records, public access. Official record.
- Atlanta Realtors Association, 2025. North Fulton market summaries. Industry report.
- Realty.com, 2026. Alpharetta housing market, August 2026: median sale price 850,000 dollars, 28 median days on market, 98.2 percent of asking. Market data.
- Realtor.com, 2026. Alpharetta market data: 30009 median listing price 880,000 dollars. Market data.