In an economy where white collar workers are moving to remote positions this doesn't bode well for that reason, and if you aren't tied geographically to your employer, why move somewhere where a 2200 sq foot house is $1 million when you can get a house that size for 350K in other areas without the congestion? 

@Diane Stinebaugh - I dont think its one size fits all type of an answer because imo it dependsA few things to take into consideration would be -- age of the house and how much deferred maintenace it has- Is it A/B/C or lower class type of an asset- Geographical location and possibility of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, hailstorms, earthquakes etc.

Since I will move to that property, the loan officer requested an explanation of why I am "downgrading."

I don't know anything about the market in Virginia, but if I was looking at something with few reliable comps, I would: 1) expand the geographic area or similarity metric you're looking for comps in to be a bit wider.

Feel free to include the geographic location in your answer, and / or building class type (A,B,C).I'm still noticing some investors expecting 12-15% in the midwest for average / B properties, for example.

You could diversify by branching out into commercial, multi-family, agriculture etc while staying in the same geographical area. 

If she has interest in different geographical areas, then make sure her wish list is the same for all areas.Providing some more background may help generate more ideas on what you can do... 

You can even diversify across asset classes - think MF, self-storage, mobile home parks, office space, etc - AND geographic location.One limiting factor though is whether you are accredited or not.

If my explanation isn't clear please let me know so I can clear things up.

There are means to research through municipal records even online and just find the demographic and of geographic area you’re looking for.