My New Blog

As appraisers, we are asked to arrive at "market value". But in todays economy, in some neighborhoods, fear and absentee lenders are killing values, in an effort to get the problem properties off the books.

That is not market value.

That is selling into a buyers market. You have to sell, what will somebody pay.

That is buying something that the seller doesnt really value, having already written off the loss. Lower bids, fewer buyers, falling prices.

In the past, when local lenders dominated the market, this would not have happened. Lenders would not have "Given away" homes, they would keep them, rent them, rework the loan; they were interested parties, seeking the greater good for the area, knowing that one drastically reduced home is like poison in the water.

Not so with national and international lenders.

As appraisers, we are determining a "disposition value", and regrettably, that value is becoming the only supportable value for refinancing, or sales.

The federal government got us into this problem, allowing large banks to swallow up local banks, and letting savings and loans get out of residential lending and into all other kinds of lending. They need to take steps to get us out, back to a system that rewards lender sellers for holding out for higher prices in disposition of foreclosed homes.

Surely we are approaching the bottom of the market, as fewer and fewer buyers are present, but a willing and qualified buyer has only to make an offer, any offer, and will be rewarded.

What we need is more local lenders, interested in our local economy, not that of the nation, or world; with fewer reasons to decline, and more centered on local economy building, local values, local population.

A return to local banking, not foreign or regional or systems; bankers who are only interested in you and me, and by definition, themselves.

People over policy.

Gentle flower, thorny stem

has time enough passed?

have you forgiven him?

The rites of spring, the full moon walks,

brand new love, awkward gropes,

blessings from above?

Can you recall the good that was,

or do stems still prick with poison love?

Gentle flower, thorny stem,

you know you must forgive him.

Alas It's true, for all this time,

The poison is within.

Gentle flower, poisoned stem.

Like Manna, GLORY easily fades unless consumed, and it does not save at all, for any other day.

get it early in the day, and give it away all day.

simple.

Do I believe my Realtor? My neighbor? The newspaper? TV?

It is my opinion that real estate is highly local, and general conditions do not always apply to specific homes or neighborhoods.

Upgrades, maintenance, view, condition, size, appeal, and all those intangibles of ownership that made you buy your house also apply when you are selling.

Of course, closed similar sales cannot be ignored, and must be considered in any value statement.

But, did you know that most statistics on TV and in the newspaper are general? For instance, when it says that values are down 10% from last year, it means that the median sales price (all sales high and low) is down, for the whole county, or region. Well, that is not fair to you. Maybe your neighborhood is only down 4%. Or, maybe it is down 20%. Or not at all.

Just one 25 million dollar sale last year could skew the median value. But, alas, shocking news sells: "Why drinking water should be boiled in West Palm Beach, tonight at 10 PM". Really. Can't you just tell me now?

So, as ever, believe only parts of what you read or hear.