Category: Appraisal & Consulting

The news is full of “never before” pronouncements. Never before has there been a pandemic so impactful on real estate. Never before has technology allowed for remote business meetings on such a frequent basis. Never before would people so comfortably work from home as to vacate office buildings, at least on Fridays and Mondays.

There are times when the appraisal process needs to be reviewed and one’s understanding of the foundational elements renewed. Given current markets, this is a particularly good time to do so. The essence of appraisal is the benchmarking appraisers engage in by comparing the subject of the appraisal to similar properties.

The performance of auto dealers can have a direct impact on the appraisal of its real estate, i.e. automobile dealerships. Currently the automobile dealership industry faces its challenges and the industry remains uncertain at the close of the second quarter of 2024.

Being late to the cutting date has started to color commentary on data and apparent conditions. Without much impact on the markets. Go figure. Innovation, including Artificial Intelligence and automaton, personal and business services, construction, among other sectors, are continuing to add jobs while trimming, in different directions.

There has been so much thought and so many articles on affordable housing…with little movement on solving the problem. Why is it so? Because they focus on market response, which has not responded well. The often touted and most significant problems in the news are summarized,

Industrial has been a darling investment class and should continue to be, even with the following discussion which indicates moderation nationally and in Boston. This sector is highly diversified, ranging from the “Amazons” to “Main Street” industrial. The Boston market - as small as it is - has enjoyed a good run with dramatic shifts in supply, construction, pricing and rent increases.

During the 2020-21 COVID Pandemic, the restaurant industry struggled with at least 600 Connecticut restaurants failing during this time period, per the Connecticut Restaurant Association. As the Pandemic ended, restaurants in Connecticut began to flourish once again,

Recently, I and others have written about office vacancies, leading to loss of income, and thus potential credit problems. As noted, not all sectors of commercial real estate are in the same boat as office, which has many more problems than other sectors such as retail and industrial.

For residential appraisers: the GSEs continue to publish guidance for residential appraisal practice. Here are some recent excerpts. Fannie Mae - Reconsideration of Value Guidance (Selling Guide Issuance, May 1, 2024, effective August 1, 2024).

At times it is challenging to coax an individual to consider becoming a real estate appraiser. Potential candidates without appraisal experience may be reluctant to enter a new field of study. Yet attracting new people can revitalize an appraisal firm. Appraisal offers an entry into the realm of commercial real estate opportunities.

After the Wednesday May 1^st Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting chairman Powell delivered what was characterized as a dovish announcement. Some pundits called this one the first dovish announcements by chairman Powell, for that matter, also any of the members serving on the FOMC under his leadership.

>Back in the good old days, and I do mean old, real estate planning was relatively simple: The key metric was location, location, location, later improved by timing, timing, timing. Yes, there was a nod to supply/demand analysis, and thus competition, but the data was not as available as you needed.