Publication: Valuation Insights & Perspectives
Publication Date: 22-SEP-07
Delivery: Immediate Online Access
Author: Britt, Phil
Article Excerpt
When it comes to gathering and using statistical information in their work, appraisers have more choices than ever before. Data about comparable properties and local and national economic conditions are more numerous than ever before, due heavily to the advent of the Internet.
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Many data sources are accessible at no cost, while others, which tend to be much more in-depth, can run well over $1,000--although many data providers that require fees offer free samples. Appraisers and others who work with appraisers rely on many of the sources listed here to help them evaluate specific properties. However, as Craig Smith, MAI, SRA, of Integra Realty Resources, Sarasota, Fla., and others contacted for this article point out, these data resources should be seen as helping to provide a basis from which to estimate a property's value, but that appraisers need to reconcile such statistics with their own knowledge of the area and the specific property or properties in question.
This collection of resources is not meant to be an exhaustive list, nor does the Appraisal Institute endorse any of them. If you use or provide a valuable resource for appraisers that is not listed here, let the editors know about it. E-mail Adam Webster, managing editor, at awebster@appraisalinstitute.org.
REPORTS
S & P/Case-Shiller Metro Area Home Price Indices
What it does: Even though every property is different, there are some trends that tend to affect all neighborhoods in a metro area. If home prices in Boston are falling, for example, this source will provide the appraiser with raw data regarding housing prices in Boston and its suburbs. The index provides details about housing stock, average values and aggregate values. From this information, the appraiser can see some trends regarding housing on a metropolitan area, including mortgage pricing, housing activity and dollar value and housing affordability. The index shows these trends via the "repeat sales method" of index calculation, which uses data on properties that have sold at least twice, in order to capture "the true appreciated value of each specific sale," according to Standard & Poors.
Where to get it: www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf/index/SPCS_MetroArea_HomePrices_Methodology.pdf
Why/how an appraiser would use it: To get information on house pricing trends in a given metropolitan area.
Cost: Free
National Association of Realtors--existing home sales/prices
What it does: The monthly report provides sales totals and sales prices of existing homes by region (Northeast, Midwest, South and West). Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings. This differs from the U.S. Census Bureau's series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. According to the NAR, the Realtor data is based on a much larger sample--nearly 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month--and typically is not subject to large prior-month revisions that tend to be a weakness of Census Bureau data.
Where to get it: www.realtor.org/research.nsf/files/EHSreport.XLS/$file/EHSreport.XLS
Why/how an appraiser would use it: To get a very broad idea of housing sales and price trends.
Cost: Free
PricewaterhouseCoopers--Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey; Emerging...
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.
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