In my market area, a substantial percentage of my appraisal assignments are country, acreage properties. These assignments rarely involve homes that are apples to apples comparables. I typically have to look at a variety of sales and find aspects of a property that are similar...
As appraisers, we are constantly analyzing data trends. For the last few years, the headline has generally been "It's a Seller's Market." Simply put, the definition of seller's market is when there are more buyers than sellers and sellers have the upper hand. A seller...
In the appraisal industry, there have been more tools and software developed over the past few years advancing data support. While there are various products to support our appraisal work files, I think it's important to not overlook the art of appraising. Brief history: Years ago,...
I have found graphing to be imperative in showing market trends and emphasizing aspects of an appraisal. I’m thankful to have learned this tool of creating custom graphs a few years ago. Many viewers of the report simply want the nuts and bolts of the...
As an appraiser, I often get asked various questions about what contributes to value. One common question that seemingly comes up is the issue of landscape and how much value it adds. The honestly truth is there is not an easy answer. Every market, neighborhood...
In my market area, there are various areas with SFRs located next to or close to railroad tracks. As with most appraisal assignments, the market reaction can vary and one can't assume the same negative market reaction applies to all. I recently completed an appraisal...
Following up recent blog post about lack of recent comparables, an agent reached out to me recently with a scenario that most of us real estate professionals can relate to. The subject property is recently updated/remodeled but the last few sales are not ideal comparables....
Occasionally, when I get to the research comparable sales step in the appraisal process, I'll come across a situation where there has been no recent sales. In today's active market, this rarely occurs, but this does happen from time to time. Recently I came across...
It happens every summer. A homeowner receives the enviable letter from placer county regarding their upcoming property tax bill. Some can rejoice depending on when an owner purchased their home, their property tax bill may be substantially lower than current market value. Others may be...
At the start of the year, I asked 4 questions that may impact real estate going into 2017. I can't believe we are already 1/2 way through 2017 as this year has flown by. Generally, I have to admit, this year has taken me by...