Are appraisals finally playing catch up?
Very interesting article on the current state of appraisals, mixed views in my selling areas. Some buyers bringing cash to closing, some walking away…
Many real estate professionals in Oxford have been blaming low appraisals for derailing transactions over the last few years. But now home prices are heating up across the country. Are appraisals still coming in lower than the agreed-upon sales price?
Even with prices rising and the number of foreclosures falling, some appraisers say assigning a value to a property isn’t getting any easier. One of the big reasons, they say, is because of low inventories in many markets. An undersupply of available homes has prompted bidding wars above list price, a price that isn’t necessarily justified by an appraisal.
That’s been happening a lot this winter and spring — the appraisal isn’t coming in. It’s an appreciating market, and the closed data that appraisers use is behind what the homes are actually selling for right now.
Appraisers say they are using sound data to base their valuations, including motivations of buyers and sellers.
references: realtor magazine, daily real estate news, chicago tribune