The mortgagee will usually require an appraisal to ensure that the:

While ensuring the purchaser is not overpaying is important, the primary concern for the mortgagee is the property value's sufficiency to secure the loan. The appraisal may indirectly address this issue, but it mainly serves to confirm the property's value in relation to the loan amount rather than just fair market value.

The buyer's income is assessed through different means, such as credit checks and debt-to-income ratios, rather than through the appraisal process. An appraisal focuses solely on the property value, not the buyer's financial capacity to make payments, making this choice irrelevant to the lender's immediate concerns.

While the appraisal may consider comparable properties to determine value, the mortgagee's priority is ensuring that the property's value secures the loan. The competitiveness of the selling price is more relevant to the buyer than to the lender, who is primarily concerned with the collateral for the loan.