I do residential appraisals all over Clark County all year around.  I saw the market stop in 2006, then fall in 2007, then fall again in 2008.  Since the first of this year there has been a change.

Could it be the Stimulus Package that changed the tide?  Or is it the optimism in the market?  Or, maybe it is both.

As I cruise around doing appraisals in all parts of the county, I keep seeing indications of a “flat” market.  That is in contrast to a “declining” market.

Every time we appraisers do a residential appraisal we have to conduct statistical analysis over the previous three month, then the three months prior to that, then the six months prior to that.  This totals a year in review for the property type under appraisal in the neighborhood of the house being appraised.

What I keep finding (and have lightly touched on in earlier posts) is that these statistics are showing significant consistency.  They most often display a “flat” market, with no inflation or deflation.  And, in some cases there is some indication of overall price increases.

Of course, it is too early to tell if this is really the case that the market is bottoming out.  It could be just a plateau/ledge along the way of further decline.

Also, the number of sales available to conduct such statistics is small.  The smaller the sample the less reliable the statistics.  However, there is a consistency in that almost all the statistics I run recently show the market has flattened out.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Ralph Olsen

Pacific West Appraisal Services, Inc.

pwas.net