Ah, this is easy – pick comps! This was pretty easy, compared to the many other things I had to learn. It was a little harder than making adjustments though. For adjustments, I had an adjustment sheet. I foolishly asked how the numbers were arrived at. The answer was “It comes from many years of […]
To regulate or improve something, you first measure it. The word credible appears in the most recent version of USPAP (©1999) some 276 times. The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice as published from time to time by the Appraisal Foundation. The word credibility is used an additional 39 times, specifically as a measure of […]
Editor’s Note: This is Part 6 of the series on Neighborhood. We’re told we should analyze a neighborhood. This is mostly a residential concept. For non-residential appraisal the focus is often a “district” – a group of similar property uses. (Rather than a group of complementary uses.) In previous Analogue Blogs, we have looked at […]
Multiple regression works very well under some conditions. We ask: Are these conditions true in most real property valuations? This is actually a vast topic, so we can only reflect on some of the conditions or assumptions which are required for a multiple regression to be valid. Much (if not all) “advanced” appraiser education makes […]
Market, the word, is used over 2500 times in The Appraisal of Real Estate. And over 650 times in the current (2021-2024) version of USPAP. “Market” must matter! But what is it? “Market” has two main meanings which correspond to the definitions in The Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal. One is a system to bring […]
Neighborhood” seems like an obvious choice for analysis. But is it? (Part 5 of a series.) The knee-jerk reaction to this question is that obviously we need it. It is a starting core of analysis. It’s what we were taught. It’s required for our license test. Leaving out a neighborhood section (form or narrative) would […]
Errors and mistakes can be “statistical.” They can be modeling Blunders. Or they can be of a third type: misjudging what the data is showing you. As we continue to grow the CAA (Community of Asset Analysts), we find that our body of useful algorithms and shared programs continues to deepen and widen. The accuracy […]
Evidence is shortly defined as “Something that shows proof.” It’s precisely defined in the law, and also addressed in philosophy and epistemology. Epistemology deals with methods, validity, and scope in the theory of knowledge. In the philosophy of science, evidence is what confirms (or not) your hypothesis. Evidence justifies belief, but only if respected. It […]
How many comps should I use? What do “authorities” say? Historical appraisal practice, as passed on from trainer to trainee, in the outdated master/apprentice model that imposed strong inviolable dictates. For residential forms, the magic number was three, sometimes up to five or six. Three and a subject column fit perfectly on a 8 1/2 […]
Appraiser education is part of the “Big Stymie.” The five forces of friction: practices, standards, education, regulation, and client expectation – all interact to impede progress in appraisal. And of these, regulation and education create the long-term blockage. A blockage that will not be resolved until we have a political response to the reality. The […]
The current excess of appraisers is the inevitable result of cyclical forces. The ups and downs persist due to the interaction of the five forces of friction: practices, standards, education, regulation, and client expectation. These five frictions reinforce and shield each other. They tag-team a rampart against risk/valuation reform, bank safety, and movement toward unbiased […]
Giving Thanks. Oh Not Again! Gratitude! Each year I just get over the last one. Get over the fright of Halloween. Adjust to the unnecessary moving clocks back and forth one hour . . . And think about the pending spirit-oriented holidays as well as the iconic BIG deal — A new near! Oh my. […]
Fannie and Freddie property data will soon become public. Now What? Everyone seems to agree, or even shout! “Give us the data and we can do better!” Even appraisers. Problem. Appraisers have no real training in how to use data. You don’t need to worry about using data when you can just pick five comps. […]
Statistical methods have been long touted in established appraisal education. Yet they seem to remain mystical and remotely related to what we actually see in appraisal reports. What happened? I was an early proponent of more numerical methods as opposed to judgment opinion methods. It seemed to me that adjustments taken off adjustment sheets seemed […]
There are three specific terms used to define what is a comp. It should be competitive, similar, and able to be compared. Competitive means what a ‘typical’ buyer would consider as between the comp, and the subject, if they were available in the marketplace at the same time (the date of value). Similar means “resembling […]
