I was recently asked to post a list of must read appraisal books. So here we go...
The Appraisal of Real Estate 13th Ed. - The appraiser's bible
Appraising Residential Properties 4th Ed. - The residential appraiser's bible
Market Analysis for Real Estate
An Introduction to Statistics for Appraisers
There is a laundry list of great books published by the Appraisal Institute.
If you are looking to polish your real estate math skills see:
Real Estate Math Demystified
Also, residential appraisers need to read Section B4 of Fannie Mae's Selling Guide since these are the standard appraisal requirements used by most lenders.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
New MN Law - Appraisal Supervisors & Trainees
As of August 1st 2009, Appraisal supervisors and trainees must register with the MN Department of Commerce. According to the law "Trainees must provide the name and address of their supervisory appraiser(s). Certified residential real property appraisers and certified general real property appraisers who intend to act in the capacity of a supervisory appraiser must provide the name and address of the trainee real property appraiser(s) that they intend to supervise. In addition, trainees must notify the Commissioner of Commerce in writing within ten days of terminating or changing their relationship with any supervisory appraiser. Supervisory appraisers must notify the Commissioner of Commerce in writing within ten days when the supervision of a trainee has terminated or when the trainee is no longer under the supervision of the supervisory appraiser. Certified residential real property appraisers and certified general real property appraisers may have no more than three trainees working under supervision at any one time."
Getting your appraisal license.
Thinking of getting your appraisal license? The Appraisal Foundation has a great write-up on the licensing process. Here in Minnesota, 75 hours of pre-licensing education is required. These courses are available from Kaplan, where I teach many of the courses. Also, the Northstar Chapter of the Appraisal Institute provides an excellent educational line up.
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Hot Topic - Appraisal Fees
How much appraisers are charging is always a subject of interest. Alamode recently published their first nation wide fee survey. The median fee for a residential appraisal in Minnesota is $350 with an average of $328. This suggests to me that AMC's are not ruining the party with low fees like many of us had feared. Clearly there are many clients out there paying full fees.
Twin Cities housing market summary
The Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area consists of 11 core counties. The area has a very diverse economic base and residents enjoy a quality of life among the highest in the nation. The following charts depict market trends for residential properties in the 11 county metropolitan area and are based on information from the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc. for the period 2000 through 2009.
Residential market activity in the Twin Cities began to slow between 2004 and 2005. Since approximately 2006 the market has been generally over-supplied with a wide gap between supply and demand. On a positive note, supply has been declining since 2007 and demand has recently increased. If these trends continue, market balance may again be seen in the next few years.
As a result of the slowing market, the median sale prices of homes in the metropolitan area have declined.
The Case-Shiller Home Price Index for the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan area shows that home prices have declined to an amount equal to prices seen in late 2001. In other words, gains in housing values seen over the last 9 years have been largely erased. A positive trend however, is that the index shows an increase in overall housing prices since the end of 2009.
Residential market activity in the Twin Cities began to slow between 2004 and 2005. Since approximately 2006 the market has been generally over-supplied with a wide gap between supply and demand. On a positive note, supply has been declining since 2007 and demand has recently increased. If these trends continue, market balance may again be seen in the next few years.
As a result of the slowing market, the median sale prices of homes in the metropolitan area have declined.
The Case-Shiller Home Price Index for the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan area shows that home prices have declined to an amount equal to prices seen in late 2001. In other words, gains in housing values seen over the last 9 years have been largely erased. A positive trend however, is that the index shows an increase in overall housing prices since the end of 2009.
Monday, February 22, 2010
An up tick in the demand for appraisers??
This is an anecdotal observation. But I think it is of some interest. The latest pre-licensing course I taught at Kaplan had 39 students, which is the largest number of new appraisers I have seen in about two years. The number of students taking the courses has been increasing steadily over the past 6 months.
Of more interest however is that in each of the last two offerings of the pre-licensing courses, more than half the students had an appraisal position waiting for them. This is a significant surge in the number of students with jobs in hand than in the recent past.
Clearly there are companies out there with work to be had. The trick, as always, is finding them.
If you happen to be one of these new appraisers, please post what you did to get that first job.
Of more interest however is that in each of the last two offerings of the pre-licensing courses, more than half the students had an appraisal position waiting for them. This is a significant surge in the number of students with jobs in hand than in the recent past.
Clearly there are companies out there with work to be had. The trick, as always, is finding them.
If you happen to be one of these new appraisers, please post what you did to get that first job.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
MN State Laws....
We all get caught up on USPAP and Fannie Mae guidelines. But don't forget that the State of Minnesota has something to say about how we do our jobs as well. Appraisers in Minnesota are regulated by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. They have a few rules and regulations you need to be aware of. Take a peek at Statutes 82B and Regulations 2808.
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