It’s been a crazy ride in the North Dallas real estate market this year. The heavy buyer’s markets of previous years have given way to a strong seller’s market in 2012. Properly prepared and show-ready homes are flying off the market in days at premium prices.
All should be well except appraisers keep killing the sales.
According to Fannie Mae, “Market value is the most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller, each acting prudently, knowledgeably and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus.”
Appraisers were more than happy to take us down the “lower value” path. Part of it caused by the pressure asserted by the Appraisal Management Companies (which are usually owned by the banks themselves) and appraisers are tired of having to defend their valuations (why take the time when the AMCs lowered the pay per appraisal?) to underwriters so many of them take the path of least resistance.
I’ve had three sales in the past three months die because the appraisals were ridiculously low. Willing sellers and buyers have agreed upon a price and terms usually in a short period of time in an open market. Yet appraisals continue to come in low and no amount of work on our part can get the appraiser to look at it again. They’re dug in.
How the hell is the market supposed to heal if we can’t get values to go back up?
Photo licensed from iStockPhoto
Originally posted at http://www.thebranchteam.com/wordpress/2012/09/21/how-the-hell-is-the-market-supposed-to-heal/
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