Appraisal Today 
 
Newz .Geographic competency .Killing home values .Fair housing - May 12, 2016
 
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The Most Insane Property Description Ever
 
Short descriptions, click here for some humor!! Reminds me of the times I am driving to the subject, hoping the house ahead is not the one I am appraising... Probably not the Most Insane, but definitely reality-based!!
 
 
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These Neighborhood Amenities Can Kill Your Property Value
 
Excerpt: In real estate, the phrase "cash is king" is oft overused. However, if you're struggling to sell a house in a bad 'hood, then you already know that in reality, location is king. Purchasing a home in a great area, or an area that is up-and-coming, can help maximize the value of your home investment.
 
So what can tear your property value down faster than a tree through the roof? The following infographic from Realtor.com offers insight-and some will surprise you!
 

 
Link to original article:
 
My comment: Of course, the effect on value varies by location - cemeteries for example.
 
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Poll: What is the farthest you have traveled to complete an appraisal and still be considered geographically competent?
 
Thanks again to Steve Costello, AppraisalPort Relationship Manager, for sending me these Most Interesting weekly poll results
 

 
My comments: Many commercial appraisers cover wide geographic areas. Some do the entire U.S and sometimes other countries. Fortunately, the "wing dippers" - appraisers flying in for a few days from other parts of the country to appraise a commercial property - definitely declined after licensing. I somehow had a "bad attitude" about helping them...
 
As we all know, distance from the subject is not the best "only" criteria. If you work in a rural area, usually you have to drive long distances.
 
But, I know many appraisers here in the San Francisco Bay Area who work in many counties. Travel distance does not always mean much if you work in a more urban area. Huge variations among all the cities. I cut down my area to be more profitable - driving time is lost money. Appraisers sell our time. I don't work in San Francisco, 10 miles from my office. Very tricky to appraise. I decided not do appraisals that required crossing a long bridge.
 
WHAT DO YOU THINK? POST YOUR COMMENTS AT www.appraisaltodayblog.com !!
 
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Survey on CU Quality ratings
Author: Rachel Massey, SRA, AI-RRS
 
"If you would be so kind to click on the SurveyMonkey poll and put your choice in, that would be great. The questions are very limited and there is no place for responses, but I am trying to gather data related to Q-ratings on the CU as to how appraisers look at it (not Fannie necessarily, but appraisers)."
 
 
My comment: Thanks for helping Rachel with her research!! Those darn Quality ratings are tricky!!
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    New in the May paid Appraisal Today newsletter!!

- Practical tips on qualifying the 1004MC and preparing a Market   Conditions Summary - how to handle many of the problems with the 1004MC
- Data Science. What is it? What does it mean for appraisers?
- No man's land & the aggressive real estate market
- How to handle rapidly increasing prices in your market
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Home Prices Climbed in 87% of U.S. Metro Areas in First Quarter
 
Excerpt:
Home prices climbed in 87 percent of U.S. metropolitan areas in the first quarter as buyers competed for a tight supply of listings, the National Association of Realtors said.
 
The median price of an existing single-family home rose from a year earlier in 154 of the 178 markets measured, the group said in a report Monday. In the previous three months, 81 percent of metropolitan areas had price increases. Twenty-eight regions had gains of 10 percent or more in the first quarter, down from 30 markets at the end of 2015 and 51 a year earlier.
 
 
My comment: I go on the local real estate agent open house tour almost every week. This week two agents asked me about how appraisers were handling the increasing prices and bids way over list. I told them that I have always used listing data - pending sales, recent data, and agent interviews. Sales are the past. But, I also said that some appraisers only used closed sales.
 
Lenders are screaming about low appraisals killing their deals. The savvy lenders are encouraging appraisers use pending sales and not requiring comps with sales prices over the subject's value.

Appraisers are so powerful! We kontrol the markets!!!! We get paid the lowest fees....
 
The May issue of the paid Appraisal Today focused on how to handle these problems, with these articles:
- No man's land & the aggressive real estate market by Ryan Lundquist
- How to handle rapidly increasing prices in your market by Ann O'Rourke
 
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The Delicate Dance of a Fair Appraiser
Fair housing and appraisers
 
Excerpt:
AO-16 (Editor's Note: USAPAP Advisory Opinion) also cautions against using relative terms (such as high, low, good, fair, poor, strong, weak, or average) without providing a baseline to measure them against. Appraisers should always include contextual information that explains the frame of reference and the relative position of the property in question on the scale. For example, if absorption is stated as "rapid," the appraiser should explain that the rate is considered rapid as compared to absorption rates of a particular time period in the past.
 
 
My comment: I love the headline!! Some good advice in this relatively short article by David Bunton of the Appraisal Foundation. I have seen several long discussions of this on social media. 

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HOW TO USE THE NUMBERS BELOW. Appraisals are ordered after the loan application. These numbers tell you the future for the next few weeks. For more information on how they are compiled, go to www.mbaa.org 
 
Note: I publish a graph of this data every month in my printed newsletter, Appraisal Today. For more information or get a FREE sample issue go to www.appraisaltoday.com/products  or send an email to info@appraisaltoday.com . Or call 800-839-0227, MTW 8AM to noon, Pacific time.

Mortgage applications increased 0.4 percent from one week earlier,
 according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 6, 2016.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 0.5 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.4 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 14 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 52.8 percent of total applications from 52.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.7 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 13.0 percent from 13.5 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 11.7 percent from 11.5 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.7 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to its lowest level since April 2016, 3.82 percent, from 3.87 percent, with points decreasing to 0.34 from 0.36 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 3.74 percent from 3.79 percent, with points remaining unchanged from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.64 percent from 3.69 percent, with points decreasing to 0.25 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.06 percent from 3.13 percent, with points decreasing to 0.33 from 0.36 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.93 percent from 2.91 percent, with points decreasing to 0.22 from 0.30 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990.  Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.  Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100. 
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Ann O'Rourke, MAI, SRA, MBA
Appraiser and Publisher Appraisal Today
2033 Clement Ave. Suite 105
Alameda, CA 94501 Phone 510-865-8041
Fax 510-523-1138
Email   ann@appraisaltoday.com