http://www.batonrougefhaappraisers.com/ – How To Understand Baton Rouge Home Appraisals: Market Conditions Section. The challenges local home appraisers now face when valuing Greater Baton Rouge homes after the Federal Tax Credit Expiration.

I recently completed a refinance appraisal assignment off Sharp Rd and witnessed a trend I wanted to bring your attention to. This is still the recovering Post Hurricane Gustav market of MLS Area 42, zip code 70815, generally Broadmoor and Sherwood Forest areas. I say Post Hurricane Gustav because Gustav’s damage in 9/2008 disrupted this housing market more than most realize. I believe the 2 weeks it took to restore utilities had a psychological impact on this market as home sales prices dipped, see chart below. Chart represents home sales from $100K to $300K in 70815 from 1/1/2007 to present.

As a home appraiser appraising in any local market that is now NOT always increasing every year as in prior years, it’s now crucial to know where the market has been, where it is now and where it might be in the future.

Cautions On Interpreting Market Data Post Federal Tax Credit Expiration. This post below illustrates that just because the Federal Tax Credit artificially elevated home sales and possibly home prices, doesn’t indicate an always favorable appraised value for your home. The word favorable is a favorable value in the home owner’s mind, not necessarily market reality. The areas listings inventories or homes for sale, has been building or increasing for months now while at the same time home sales have been slowing. This could be attributable to the national economy finally catching up with the local economy, more difficulty now in qualifying for a mortgage and/or the shift within the Greater Baton Rouge housing market toward more affordable housing, ie., closer to $100/sf versus $135/sf to $160/sf.

Appraisal Assignment: 38 year old 2,850sf living area home, 3 Bedroom, 2.5 Baths, off Sharp Rd in between Broadmoor and Sherwood Forest areas.

MLS Search Parameters

3 to 5 Bedroom Slab Homes in Area 42 Between $150,000 to $275,000, Zip Code 70815, 10/4/2008 to 10/7/2010, Ages 16-20 to Max Age.

Sold Results: Median Sales Prices!

Sold results indicate an increasing median sales price since 10/4/2008 of +11% and +7.5% over the past year.

Sold Results: Average Sold Price Per Sq. Ft.!

Sold results indicate an increasing average sold price per sq. ft. since 10/4/2008. In Broadmoor, the increase has been $4/sf or +5.3%. In Sherwood Forest, the increase has been $2/sf or +2.7%.

HOWEVER, The current market conditions, the Fannie Mae 1004MC or Market Conditions Form describes a different market condition THAT MUST BE ANALYZED AND RECONCILED BY THE APPRAISER.

COMPETING HOME SALES ARE DECLINING – From 18 to 3!

ABSORPTION RATE IS DECLINING – From 3 Sales Per Month Down To Just 1!

TOTAL COMPARABLE ACTIVE LISTINGS IS INCREASING – Inventory Is Growing!

MONTHS OF HOUSING SUPPLY IS INCREASING – FROM 5 TO 22!

NOTE: When the top right 4 boxes are checked for Declining, Declining, Increasing and Increasing, that’s not a good market indication!

Chart Showing Slowing Home Sales!

Conclusion.

When appraising local Greater Baton Rouge Homes, it’s important for both the appraiser and the homeowner to know that ALL market conditions are examined and reconciled to arrive at a value conclusion. In the above market examination, YES, the median sales prices and average sales prices per sq. ft. were increasing, but were also still recovering. If one examines the very first chart in this post, you’ll find that this market still hasn’t fully recovered to the $180K median sales prices of 2007/2008 prior to Gustav.

And, it’s very important to lenders underwriting the loan if there’s only 1 competing home per month selling resulting in a 22 month supply of competing housing, declining absorption rate (declining number of homes within the large inventory being removed from that inventory), increasing number of months on the market and increasing number of listings being added each month.

I do hope locals can now better understand part of the appraisal process. Home appraisals in 2010, with the newer 1004MC form and more and more requirements being added each month it seems, take much longer to complete now with much more investigation and reporting requirements.

REO OR FORECLOSURE RATE!

And, for those that would like to know to know the REO or Foreclosure rate for this assignment, the chart is below showing only 2 “MLS” foreclosures for homes 2500sf to 3100sf since 10/4/2008. There could have been several more take place outside of these 2 listed in MLS as many national lenders today choose not to list their REO inventories in the MLS anymore….up to 70%. In my report, I stated, ” It’s also stated here that a recent article (The Landmines Within by Michael Tarabotto http://activerain.com/blogsview/930436/The-Landmines-Within ) stated that as much as 70% of REOs never make it into the MLS – Meaning that it might be impossible to know or state the exact # of competing REOs if
they’re not being listed. MLS is reporting 2 comparable REO listings.”

Data used with permission of the GBRAR MLS, search dates 1/1/2007 to 10/07/2010, extracted on 10/07/2010.

http://www.batonrougebpoappraisals.info/ - Home Of The Greater Baton Rouge Similar Sales Desktop Valuation Reports (SSDVR) – Compliant With USPAP & Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, 225-293-1500

Welcome To The $100. 00 Greater Baton Rouge Comparable Sales Reports! Greater Baton Rouge Comparable Sales Reports Is A Desktop Appraisal Service Performed By William D. Cobb with Accurate Valuations Group, Serving East & West Baton Rouge Parish, Northern Ascension Parish and Western Livingston Parish. William Uses An Approved Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Appraisal Form (SSDVR) To Complete This Report.

What Is An SSDVR Report? A desktop appraisal report conducted by Louisiana State Certified Appraiser, William D. Cobb, CREA, License #R0851. Bill will drive-by the home being appraised, rely upon the physical data the client provides, research the MLS database, select the 3 most similar and competitive sales/comps and render a value opinion.

http://www.batonrougebpoappraisals.info/ - Home Of The Greater Baton Rouge Similar Sales Desktop Valuation Reports (SSDVR) – Compliant With USPAP & Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, 225-293-1500

Welcome To The $100. 00 Greater Baton Rouge Comparable Sales Reports! Greater Baton Rouge Comparable Sales Reports Is A Desktop Appraisal Service Performed By William D. Cobb with Accurate Valuations Group, Serving East & West Baton Rouge Parish, Northern Ascension Parish and Western Livingston Parish. William Uses An Approved Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Appraisal Form (SSDVR) To Complete This Report.

What Is An SSDVR Report? A desktop appraisal report conducted by Louisiana State Certified Appraiser, William D. Cobb, CREA, License #R0851. Bill will drive-by the home being appraised, rely upon the physical data the client provides, research the MLS database, select the 3 most similar and competitive sales/comps and render a value opinion.

http://www.appraisersinbatonrouge.com/ – Baton Rouge Real Estate in October 2009 Ranks Within The 20 Strongest Metro Areas In U.S.

(NOTE: This Photo, Taken in 10/2009, Shows New Construction By More “Economy Builders” Priced Below $200,000 Is Still Fairly Brisk Within The Outlying Areas Of Greater Baton Rouge Itself. This is the “New” New Construction Baton Rouge housing market, a market that is much more affordable in pricing. And, this is what is selling. Some of those builders that thought buyers would just keep paying $136/sf to $160/sf and never stop are the ones still holding inventory, paying interest and their banks are sometimes taking it on the chin. In new home construction, in general, under $200K is moving fairly well; Over $250K is Still Not Selling As Fast As It Did in 2006/2007. AND, these $200,000 new homes in the photo are being built in a “former” high end subdivision where the predominant values were $350,000 or about $135/sf. The new price per sq. ft. for the remaining 85% of lots is going to be in the $96/sf to $106/sf. OUCH!!!)

Mark Perry, with Wall Street Pit Global Market Insight, is reporting, along with Business Week, that Baton Rouge Real Estate in 2009 is within THE 20 Strongest Performing Metro Areas in the U.S.. The link to the article is here. A Snippet includes:

“BUSINESS WEEK (”The U.S. Metros Least Touched by Recession”) – America’s strongest economies have one thing in common — home prices that never got too hot or too cold (see charts above comparing the home price index in California to Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma over the last ten years).

Home prices in metros such as San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Little Rock, Ark., and Baton Rouge, La., remained steady through boom and bust. Although no metropolitan area entirely avoided the economic downturn, the most resilient metros were protected by a potent mix of recession-resistant jobs.

The upstate New York areas of Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, and Buffalo suffered from declining jobs in manufacturing, but got significant boosts from sizable health-care, education, and government sectors. Construction is booming in Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capital, as firms take advantage of financing for post-Katrina hurricane recovery work and service-related companies expand to meet the needs of a growing population. Omaha and the state of Iowa have relatively strong insurance sectors.

Texas, the last state to enter recession, has been bolstered by its oil and gas industries — which have also helped Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Louisiana. Texas also has many other things going for it, including affordable home prices and relatively low wages, which attract corporations.”

http://www.fhaappraisersbatonrouge.com/ - FHA Guidelines: Proposal Would Increase Downpayment, end Financing of Closing Costs

FHA Loan Pros is making more sense out of the FHA situation, read here.

Here’s a snippet:

“In a move intended to reduce taxpayers’ exposure to losses associated with defaulted FHA loans, legislation is being proposed that would tighten FHA loan requirements:

The minimum down payment would increase from 3.5% to 5% of the loan amount.
Closing costs would no longer be permitted to be “rolled into” the loan amount.
This would mean that potential homebuyers would need to have more cash available for coverin these costs. The principle concern behind these proposed changes is that lenient lending requirements can encourage people to take out home loans they;re not prepared to pay over the long term.

Demise of “Sub-Prime” Lending Increases FHA Market Share”

http://www.batonrougefhaappraisers.com – FHA Loans Provide Refinancing Solution for Greater Baton Rouge Residents with Bad Credit

FHALoanPro’s Karen Lawson has an interesting article, “FHA Loans Provide Refinancing Solution for People with Bad Credit“. Here’s a snippet,

“FHA Guidelines: More Lenient Than Conventional Refinancing

Refinancing to an FHA mortgage loan makes sense if you’re short of cash or have bad credit. Here’s how FHA guidelines for approving a mortgage can help you:

Low down payment/home equity requirement: Down payments or home equity of as little as 3.5% of your home’s value reduces the amount of home equity and/or cash you must provide.

No minimum credit score required: Increasingly strict credit requirements are making it difficult for many homeowners to qualify for traditional refinancing. FHA guidelines don’t require a minimum credit score.”

http://www.batonrougerealestateappraisers.net/ - Baton Rouge Real Estate Appraiser Professionals On Twitter

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http://www.batonrougefhaappraisers.com/ – Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Dropped From Distressed Cities List By Mortgage Insurance Company

On July 20, 2009 The Baton Rouge Business Report reported that Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corp. dropped Baton Rouge from it’s declining and distressed cities list, which could lead to looser down payment standards locally. The link to the article is here.

http://www.batonrougefhaappraisers.com/ - Ten Steps To Maximizing The Greater Baton Rouge Sale Of Your Home

I ran across this article this morning and thought it would be helpful for Greater Baton Rouge home sellers – 10 tips to maximizing sale of your home

Here’s a snippet from the article:

“Pay attention to the exterior first. This is what potential buyers notice. Give priority to home improvements that are visible to the naked eye. Fixing the façade will get you a better price than ensuring the foundation is solid.

Tidy up the yard and garden. If there are signs of neglect most buyers will not even step in. what one needs to do is create a presentation. Make sure there are no tires or wood lying around and any loose shutters or storm drains and gutters are properly fixed.”

Enjoy!

Bill Cobb FHA Appraiser, CREA