OPINION OF THE COURT
I.
This case presents the debtors’ (the “Barretts”) appeal from the district court’s decision not to set aside a foreclosure sale as a fraudulent transfer under 11 U.S.C.
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§ 548(a)(2). There have been two appeals from the bankruptcy court to the district court. In both instances the order of the bankruptcy court was vacated.
Barrett v. Commonwealth Federal Savings and Loan,
The appellants here wish to set aside the foreclosure sale of thеir personal residence on the ground that they received less than the reasonably equivalent value for their house at the foreclosure sale. This case arose when the mortgagee, Commonwealth Federal Savings and Loan Association, instituted foreclosure proceedings after the debtors defaulted. After a defаult judgment was entered against the debtors, their personal residence was sold at a sheriff’s sale to Robert J. Gunn (hereinafter “Gunn”) for $66,000. Subsequently, the debtors filed for bankruptcy. The debtors then filed a complaint in the bankruptcy court to avoid transfer of their property.
In the initial proceeding, the bankruptcy court determined that the value of the property was $95,000. The bankruptcy court also found that the amount received at the foreclosure sale “($66,000) is sixty-nine and five tenths (69.5%) percent of the fair market value of the property of $95,-000, slightly less than the seventy (70%) percent benchmark which we have consistently accepted.”
Barrett,
Gunn, the purchaser of the property at the foreclosure sale, then appealed the bankruptcy court’s decision to the district court. The district court held that the bankruptcy court’s valuation of the property was not “clearly erroneous,”
2
but vacated the order setting aside the sheriff’s sale and remanded “to determine whether under § 548(a)(2) a ‘reasonably equivalent value’ was obtained at the foreclosure sale in light of the surrounding circumstances.”
Barrett,
On remand, after considering the additional factors, the bankruptcy court restated its prior holding, and once again, set aside the sheriff’s sale.
Barrett,
Gunn, the purchaser at the foreclosure sale, again appealed to the district court. The district court reversed and upheld the foreclosure sale because the bankruptcy court had not properly evaluated the fair market value of the property or the conditions of sale in light of the fоreclosure.
Barrett,
We have jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. The district court exercised appellate jurisdiction in this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(a) governing appeals from final judgments of the bankruptcy court. The bankruptcy court had subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b), and 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b).
II.
We must determine whether the district court erred in reversing the order of the bankruptcy court which, after allеgedly considering the totality of the circumstances, set aside the foreclosure sale on the grounds that the debtor did not receive reasonably equivalent value for the house. In order to make this decision, we must decide what constitutes reasonably equivalent value under § 548 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Since § 548(a)(2) does not contain a definition of the term “reasonably equivalent value,” the courts have been left with the responsibility of defining this term.
In Re Morris Communications NC, Inc.,
One of the standards known generally as the mathematical formula originated in the setting of a foreclosure salе in Durrett, ... and was followed in Madrid v. Lawyers Title Ins. Co.,21 B.R. 424 (9th Cir.1982),. aff'd on other grounds,725 F.2d 1197 (9th Cir.), cert. denied,469 U.S. 833 ,105 S.Ct. 125 ,83 L.Ed.2d 66 (1984). Under this standard, a consideration less than 70% of the fair market value will normally not qualify as “reasonably equivalent value.” Durrett, supra, at 201. The rules to be applied in defining reasonable equivalence, as adopted by the later cases, however, take a less rigid approach and are most accurately summarized in Bundles v. Baker,856 F.2d 815 , 823-24 (7th Cir.1988). That decision rеjects any fixed mathematical formula for determining reasonable equivalence and opts for the standard that “reasonable equivalence should depend on all the facts of each case,” an important element of which is market value. Such a rule “requires case-by-case adjudication,” as a starting point [fоr such review] the fair market value of the property transferred.
On the instant appeal, the parties agree that the
Bundles
standard should be used to determine reasonably equivalent value because that standard has been widely accepted by the courts.
See, e.g., In Re Lindsay,
We must consider whether the appellants’ assertions are correct (i.e. whether the district court misinterpreted the Bundles holding). In Bundles, the Seventh Circuit considered essentially the same issue that is before us, that is, “whether a debtor in bankruptcy may set aside under section 548(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code, ..., the sale of his personal residence upon foreclosure of the mortgage.” Id. at 816. The Bundles court reviewed the lower court decisions and concluded that the sale price at a sheriffs sale should not be automatically presumed to рrovide the debtor with the reasonably equivalent value. Id. at 825. The Bundles court noted that “in usual circumstances, it would be appropriate to permit a rebuttable presumption that the price obtained at the foreclosure sale represents a reasonably equivalent value.” 5 Id. at 824. In so noting, the court reviewed the legislative history § 548(a)(2), and cоncluded “... that Congress did not legislate an irrebutable presumption in the case of mortgage foreclosure sales.” 6 Id. at 821.
The court then adopted its “totality of the circumstances” test:
[T]he bankruptcy court also must examine the foreclosure transaction in its totality to determine whether the procedures employed were сalculated not only to secure for the mortgagee the value of its interest but also to return to the debtor-mortgagor his equity in the property.
Id.
In the instant case, the district court concluded that the
Bundles
decision held that reasonably equivalent value under § 548(a)(2) should be determined by considering “the fair market value as affected by the fact of foreclosure.”
Barrett,
*25 III.
Upon review of the totality of the circumstances presented in the case at bar, we agree with the district court’s holding that the sheriff’s sale should not be set aside. If we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellant, the debtor reсeived 69.5% from the sheriff’s sale. If we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee, the debtor received 77.6% of the value of the property. 8
The bankruptcy judge’s confident determination of market value is not as evident to us as it was to him. For the date of the sheriff’s sale, December 5, 1988, the appraiser hirеd by the debtor valued the property at $95,500 and the bankruptcy court valued the property at $95,000. The appraiser hired by the creditor valued the property at $85,000.
Barrett,
We recognize that, as Justice Holmes noted, that in the adjudication process there “is the inevitable result of drawing a line where the distinctions are distinctions of degree; and the constant business of the law is to draw such lines.”
Dominion Hotel, Inc. v. State of Arizona,
The trial court noted that relief from foreclosure sales should only be granted in extraordinary situations. The factual scenario in this case is not an extraordinary situatiоn, therefore, it is not necessary for us to decide what the applicable law would be in such instances.
A. Scope of Advertisement-Local vs. State Rule
Appellants concede that the newspaper used for advertisement of the property met the standards under the applicable state rule, Pennsylvania R.Civ.P. 3129.2. 9 However, in support of their argument that the sale in this casе was not advertised widely, appellant contends that a local rule of the Philadelphia Common Pleas court, Philadelphia Civ.R. 3192.2 10 , sets the standard for advertising sheriff’s sales in Philadelphia. Appellant further contends that the foreclosure sale must be set aside because it was not advertised as extensively as the local rule required.
There is a preliminary issue as to whether the Philadelphia Common Pleas court local rule issue should be considered on this appeal since appellants never cited the local rule as a basis for relief when litigating before the bankruptcy court and the district court. As a general rule a party may not raise a new issuе on appeal.
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See, Bethlehem Mines Corp. v. United Mine Workers of America,
B. Competitive Bidding
We are further persuaded that competitive bidding took place by the testimony regarding the unusually large number of bidders present at the foreclosure sale.
Barrett,
... observed that there were 20 bidders present at the December 5,1988 sale and that it was “standing room only.” [citation omitted] He estimated that there were a total of 450 individual bids mostly in $100 increments, [citation omitted]
Id.
IV.
On the basis of the issues actually litigated before the bankruptcy and the district court, we conclude that the district court correctly determined that the foreclosure sale did not violate the applicable rules for sheriffs sales in this case. The judgment of the district court approving the foreclosure sale will be affirmed.
Notes
. A detailed factual summary of this case appears in
Barrett v. Commonwealth Federal Savings and Loan,
. In view of our holding, we need not determine whether the district court’s first decision was correct in holding that the bankruptcy court’s valuation was not сlearly erroneous.
.The district court noted that:
[t]he bankruptcy court ... stated that the sale did not compare favorably with a typical pri *23 vate sale of residential property in Philadelphia. But the critical question is whether the sale compared favorably to a typical foreclosure sale in the area — and the uncontro-verted evidence received at the supplemental hearing showed that it did so.
. Under 11 Bankruptcy Code § 548(a)(2).
The trustee may avoid any transfer of an interest of the debtor in property, or any obligation incurred by the debtor, that was made or incurred on or within one year before the date of the filing of the petition, if the debtor voluntarily or involuntarily—
******
(2)(A) received less than a reasonably equivаlent value in exchange for such transfer or obligation; (emphasis mine).
. We cannot endorse the general proposition that the sale price at foreclosure will be subject to a rebuttable presumption that it is a "fair” price in usual circumstances. Such a presumption would unfairly burden the debtors under § 548, and would prevent many debtors from obtaining relief.
. The Bundles court set forth the appropriate scope of review for an appellate court in this type of case. The court noted that ...
[i]t is beyond our scope of review to consider the policy implications of permitting the debt- or to set aside the foreclosure of his home. Any change dеemed desirable on policy grounds should be addressed to Congress rather than to this court. Our duty is simply to interpret the language of the statute. Implying an irrebuttable presumption would be inconsistent with that language. Such a reading, in effect, creates an exception to the trustee’s avoiding powers under section 548(a)(2)(A) — for property sоld at a foreclosure sale.
Bundles,
.The district court noted that
*25 ... [r]elief from foreclosure sale under § 548 should be reserved for extraordinary situations where state law and sheriff's office procedures have not been followed, where advertising is extremely limited, or where bidding is suspiciously lacking in competitiveness— and the sale price, as a result, is clearly inadequate.
Id.
. In viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellant, one must use the $95,-000 appraisal figure. In viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee, one must use the $85,000 appraisal figure.
. Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 3129.2 contains the rules governing sheriffs sales in Pennsylvania. In pertinent part the rule statеs the following:
(d) Notice containing the information required by subdivision (b) shall also be given by publication by the sheriff once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county and in the legal publication....
. The Philadelphia local rule states the following:
Writs of execution for the sale of real estate shall be advertised by the Sheriff once a week for three (3) successive weeks in The Legal Intelligencer and in one daily newspaper of general circulation in this county.... (emphasis added)