I looked at a house last week that is 2,800 square feet, inlaid Brazilian Cherry floors, polished granite counter tops, etc.

It came available for sale in the spring of 2006 as a brand new house.  It was first listed for $585,000.  A month later they raised the price to $610,000.  Nine months later it hadn’t sold so they dropped the price to $575,000.  One month later they raised the price to $595,000.  Three months later they dropped it to $550,000.  One month later they dropped it to $500,000.  Half a month later they dropped it to $470,000.  A week later it was dropped to $450,000.  Two weeks later it was dropped to $400,000.  Two and a half months later (January of this year) the asking price was increased to $483,500.  A month later it went to $450,000.  Two days later it went to $460,000.  A month later it went to $430,000.  Two weeks later it went to $415,000, where it remains to this day.

But, in today’s market it is only worth about $375,000.  And, it is bank owned.

Ralph Olsen, IFA appraiser

Pacific West Appraisal Services, Inc.

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I wrote briefly in the past about the Hillhurst subdivision on the south side of Ridgefield.  I have been asked to re-examine the area.  Following are my observations.

Clark County says there are 117 lots in Hillhurst.  This includes the original plat recorded in July 1910 and the new phases I and II recorded in 2005 and 2006.  Of these new subdivisions, I counted 62 lots.  There may be more.  I was reading the plat maps and noting the sales activity.

Just looking at house sales (not tracking bare land sales), there were 15 sales in 2006 that averaged $558,426.  In 2007 there were 9 sales that averaged $545,805.  In 2008 there have been only two sales and they averaged $487,598.

As you can see the average sales price dropped 2.26% from 2006 to 2007 and additional 10.66% from 2007 to 2008.  It must be noted that the two sales in 2008 are a very small sample to depend on.  But, the trend is downward.

The south side of Ridgefield is generally known as Hillhurst for two reasons.  The early plat filed in 1910 and the name of the street that comes out of down town Ridgefield is call Hillhurst Road.

In this area there are four new subdivisions.  They are the Hillhurst phases I & II; Taverner Ridge phase I, II and III; Cassinin View; and Ospery Pointe.  Included in these subdivisions are about 300 home-sites.  All of these are basically the same product type addressing the same market demand strata.  Most of the sites have been built on.  I will review these other subdivisions in future postings.

Ralph Olsen, IFA appraiser

Pacific West Appraisal Services, Inc.

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Popularity: 45% [?]

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A discussion today presented by the Rose City Chapter of the N.A.I.F.A. brought up concerns about legal problems for appraisers.

Some areas to watch are:  * Always mention the R.E.O. activity in the area your subject property is in.  This activity affects the market, so it must be addressed.   * Don’t say in an appraisal that a house could be reconstructed if destroyed.  That is a question only the local government could answer.  * Always look at and mention any concessions that occur in the market area of your subject.  Sometimes these are hard to determine.  That is because you will likely get different stories from different parties involved in the transaction.

The gist of the matter is that there are those who are looking to recover money from appraiser that was lost by lenders on loans gone bad.  It is best to cover all the bases to be safe and limit liability.

Ralph Olsen, IFA appraiser

Pacific West Appraisal Services, Inc.

pwas.net

Popularity: 47% [?]

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