Comp selection same city or same school district, need help!

[hvn2006]

hi,

I am doing an appraisal where the subjet resides in the city of, saratoga, ca. The subject is also closely bordered next to, san jose, ca. My question here is do i pick comps in the same city as the subject, saratoga? If i do this then none of the comps will be located in the same school district as the subject. If i do pick comps in the same school district then all of my comparables are located in the city of, san jose. So what comes first here comps in the same city as the subject or comps in the same school district in a different city? Need help asap! thanks..

 

[NORTON]

why do the comps from the same city not have have the same school district? also, what's the average home price in saratoga vs the neighboring portion of san jose? saratoga is a very desired area....does that portion of san jose carry the same weight in the market?

 

[Laughing Heir]

If you were buying a home in that market which criterion would you classify as the most important? In my markets, here in PA, the school district usually is the most significant factor.

 

[AlwaysLearning]

hi,

I am doing an appraisal where the subjet resides in the city of, saratoga, ca. The subject is also closely bordered next to, san jose, ca. My question here is do i pick comps in the same city as the subject, saratoga? If i do this then none of the comps will be located in the same school district as the subject. If i do pick comps in the same school district then all of my comparables are located in the city of, san jose. So what comes first here comps in the same city as the subject or comps in the same school district in a different city? Need help asap! thanks..

"What comes first here" is the knowledge of the subject property’s market area. It could be comps in the same city as the subject or it could be comps in the same school district in a different city.

You the professional appraiser, familiar with the subject’s market area should know the best.

If you are not familiar with the subject’s market area then get “local” help.

 

[Pittsburgh Pete]

If you were buying a home in that market which criterion would you classify as the most important? In my markets, here in PA, the school district usually is the most significant factor.

In our market, as the Laughin' guy noted, people buy school districts. Two properties across the street from one another may have signficantly different values because they are in different school districts. They could be identical in evey respect and still sell for signficantly different prices--school district rules!

 

[stefan olafson]

Knowledge of the market, your market is most important.

Where I used to appraise there was one school district. We typically used the most similar comparables in the closest proximity.

Having said that, I lived in a border community with a similar but smaller town just to the east in MN. We seldom if ever crossed the river for comparables because of the differences in the market.

 

[John Hassler]

What would the typical buyer of a home like the subject perceive to be the most important factor? If your subject is a one-bedroom home the school district may be of little relevance. If its a four-bedroom on the flats it may be critical (these are just examples).

No matter which way you go on this, you will need to do the market research for either a school district adjustment or a town adjustment, or both if you use a mix of comparables.

You might PM Flygirl as she works in that market.

 

[Lee Lansford]

hi,

I am doing an appraisal where the subjet resides in the city of, saratoga, ca. The subject is also closely bordered next to, san jose, ca. My question here is do i pick comps in the same city as the subject, saratoga? If i do this then none of the comps will be located in the same school district as the subject. If i do pick comps in the same school district then all of my comparables are located in the city of, san jose. So what comes first here comps in the same city as the subject or comps in the same school district in a different city? Need help asap! thanks..

And THE answer is...to be found among the market data for the subject's "neighborhood" and market area.

You may have to talk with a few local well-respected local sales agents to gain some understanding of the local market.

 

[Mile High Trout]

All comments are definitely goodies. Let the data speak to you. If uncertain, expand your search peramiter and review the data. Print, print, print. Reduce your filters so you can review whole markets, whole neighborhoods, and associated trends. Whole neighborhood 1 year overviews of all active, sold and uc, set against the next neighborhood should yield some paired sales to consider. Then consider the school districts and decide for yourself if those are buyer motivations. In my particular areas, there are only a handful of areas that reflect such constant buyer motivations to cause segregation of housing pricing, but that is much more pronounced in other areas.

However, it's quite tough to explain a school district adjustment in the grid, and you've got to back that up with specifically referenced market data. Sometimes it's just simpler to think about exceeding your normal approach, and taking somewhat dissimilar homes from the immediate market area. But only so long as those are the driving factors in market valuation, from the shoes of an average buyer, or in your case, the shoes of a dozen buyers, of whom only some are motivated by the school district.

SF is king, location comes next. But in markets with varying distress at this time, the principals of substitution can take hold over those factors. I guess it's probably not as much of an issue round these parts, because parents can get waivers to allow crossing boundaries for school choice.

 

[hastalavista]

My experience in the Saratoga market is that the school district can make a discernable difference in value.

As a rule, homes in Saratoga sell for more than homes in San Jose (I'm sure you know this).

If it were me, I'd go back in time and trend the value differences of those homes in Saratoga that fall within the SJ school district vs. those homes (nearby) in Saratoga that don't. I'd also call the agents and ask them for their opinion; chances are good you'll get an indication (from the agents and from the data) that there is a price difference. Use this as the basis for consideration in the sales grid.

It wouldn't surprise me if the results of your research show (in terms of value):
(Saratoga homes in Saratoga SD) > (Saratoga homes in SJ SD) > (San Jose homes in SJ SD).

One of our forumites- Flygirl - does a lot of work in this market. You can try to PM her; I'm sure she'd be happy to give you her insight.

Good luck.