In this Part II, (see Part I here) we will reduce the comparison to the component comparable parts. Appraisal: Pick comps. Make adjustments. Opine a number. Data Science: Identify data. Clean the data. Run predictive algorithms. Similar huh? Well – yes and no. Let’s look around. We begin with the beginning: What questions do we […]
The “Appraisal Process” requires good judgment in picking comps. USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) uses the word comparable 95 times. Comps MUST be important. However, it is not defined. The Appraisal of Real Estate states a comparable must be similar, competitive, and “able to be compared.” In the 14th Edition, it is used […]
Is it time that matters? Or is it different market conditions? At one point, I was told to stop teaching that it’s a ‘time adjustment’. Because it’s actually a ‘market conditions’ adjustment. This bothered me. It seemed like yet another step backward in the march of appraisal practices. Comparing market conditions at two different time-groups […]
Time adjustments is a timely topic. Recent ski-jump rises in prices have been ramp-ant in many places. Valuemetrics.info provided a free, two-hour webinar on the topic, and we had almost exactly 1000 appraisers sign up. (Although many did not show – free, you know.) Prior to the webinar, I asked some reviewers about how appraisers […]
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 […]
Appraiser credibility continues to decay over time. Even during the great runup in prices, and now the spotty, often rapid rundown in prices – residential appraisers mostly turned a blind eye to the need for this critical “time adjustment.” Non-residential appraisers have yet to see the coming value shifts. Shamefully, a time adjustment, (or market […]
You MUST make adjustments. Everybody knows that! Or not. In USPAP and The Appraisal of Real Estate (TARE) we have two predominant topical sources. The USPAP standards do not require adjustments. The word “comparable” is not defined, nor is the word “adjustment” found in USPAP. Nothing about adjustments nor picking comps. However, we note that […]
A dictionary definition of “adjust” is: “alter or move (something) slightly in order to achieve the desired fit, appearance, or result.” When I “carefully” pick some comps, I use my judgment to need as little fudging as possible. But it never seems to work out just right. There are three practices to adjust the fudging: […]
“I never make adjustments,” said the MAI who first trained me. He was a top litigation appraiser. He explained that if he made an adjustment he had no way to explain how he got the number when cross-examined by the opposing attorney. Instead, he used what is called ‘qualitative analysis.’ The Appraisal of Real Estate […]
“Ya gotta show your work,” my third-grade teacher said. “But I got the answer right!” said I. “Ya gotta support your adjustments,” they say. “But I’m credible!” say I. Incredible. Why are we harangued to “support” our adjustments? Why are we sold one form after another of magical adjustment calculators? Another enchanted $129 class to […]
Adjustments to comparables seem to be required by lender clients, the quasi-governmental GSEs, and some other users of appraisals. But are they actually required? USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) says no. No. The word “adjustment” is nowhere to be found. (However Advisory Opinions say an adjustment should be “appropriate.”) Got it. Appropriate. Adjustments […]
Pick comps, make adjustments are the “recognized methods and techniques” which must be “correctly” used by appraisers. Originally, the practice was just “find comps and reconcile.” Some hundred years ago, the main task of an appraiser (usually also the local broker) was to track down sales. This involved phone calls to agents, people they knew, […]
Recently, Keith Wolf (representing Freddie Mac), coined a new term for claims about adjustments, calling it the “adjustment fallacy.” Adjustments to comparables first arrived on the scene as a way of explaining differences between the subject property and a compared comp. (A way to ‘support’ an opinion comparison.) In theory, an adjustment is supposed to […]
Gen AI is an emerging technology that has gone viral. But what actually is AI. The following was taken from a course offered by Coursera “AI Essentials”. “To begin this AI journey, let’s start by examining what the term artificial intelligence really means. In this context, intelligence refers to the human ability to perform cognitive tasks. […]