Active listings not considered?

[phoebe33764]

After receiving my report, the MB (whom I am known for many years) called me to ask me why I considered active listings in my estimate of market value and included them in my report.
m2:

At first I thought he was joking as we have a very good rapport. He used to be an appraiser long ago however, had never experienced a declining market as we are in primarily in Florida.

I explained that although there were sales comparable to the subject ranging from $80-114k, foreclosure and short sales were the majority, according to my research. Active listings in the immediate neighborhood were at $65-90k, some foreclosures, some short sale listings, and the rest normal actives with no mention of distress.

Then he says to me......

"No other appraisers consider active listings". I could not believe what I had just heard. How could an appraiser not consider active listings? Trying to explain to him the reasons why an appraiser is supposed to when they don't was near impossible. Yes, there are many appraisers out there who don't measure or supervisors who say that they inspected with a trainee when they didn't...et. al. I was just stunned to hear that there are appraisers who disregard a very important factor of value.


It is a shame I'll probably lose this client because it now appears that I am working out of the norm when I am only covering all bases including my @$$.

 

[David Dietz]

It is par for the course,

I still see current appraisals in my area that are claiming the market is stable or mark a declining market but make no negative time adjustment. I think the Skippie's out number appraisers 10 to 1.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Active listings have always been an indicator of the market's direction. Part of determining the estimated market value of a subject is the theory of substitution. What could I buy a similar competing home for today?

Stick to your guns, you are doing the right thing.

 

[Hiker]

I used to never include active listings in my reports til a year ago when lenders would send back a letter from some underwriter that wanted them. Now I include a pending and active with every report as possible and no one has asked for any additional info in months.

 

[Steve Metz]

I have some lenders now requesting them in a report. I put them in and then put a diclaimer in that they are requested by lender and a couple of paragraphs on the market disconnect between buyers and sellers.

 

[Lee Lansford]

...

Then he says to me......

"No other appraisers consider active listings"... /QUOTE]

What he MEANT to say is "no appraisers who I use on a regular basis consider active listings".

 

[Lee Lansford]

...I was just stunned to hear that there are appraisers who disregard a very important factor of value...

"Stunned"?

Where have you been the past 10-15 years?

 

[athome77]

Have had request recently to remove market time from comparable listings. Request came from lender's "rep" via MB client, suggesting it makes market look worse than it is. I asked for the request in the form of a written underwriting condition. Still waiting.

 

[phoebe33764]

I agree with everyones comments and had always been considering active listings. Heck when Fannie Mae changed the form effective 11/05, it is obvious that we consider them since we list the comparable ones on page 2 of the URAR from the low to the high end and the quantity. As Gordon stated, I did not list them in my reports until a large influx of lenders started asking for them. Now I put them in from the start.

Even posed the scenario to MB. Let's say he (the MB) was lending his own money on this loan and he had to take back the property. Wouldn't he frown on finding out there were many listings WAY lower than what he just lent his hard earned money on? And the appraiser just disregarded them because they were just "active" listings. He still did not get it.

 

[RSW]

I've said this before on an other thread. We are supposed to be looking at the ative listings in the area. We are reporting on the top of page two of the URAR active listings in the subject's market area are from ____ to ____. Where are these appraisers getting that number from? I hope they have data in their workfile to back up what they are saying in the report. The only difference for me was that I just had to grid some in the appraisal report and map it out.

The old 2055 form had a spot on it for active listings and closed sales.