Appraisers Find Spike In Demand

The pace has picked up for Rogue Valley real estate appraisers.

Spurred by low interest rates, homeowners are refinancing, buyers are striking deals, and there are still plenty of foreclosure properties available, too.

Put them all together, and it means work for appraisers.

"The first three months of the year, I had a surge of business due to the mortgage rates being so good," said Michele Kennison of Appraisal Solutions in Eagle Point. "Right now, I think lenders are wanting to make sure they are in compliance with the Home Valuation Code of Conduct before they order an appraisal."

Although the pace tailed off a little in April, Kennison anticipates more to come.

"It's only my opinion, but we had a new form to fill out for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac starting April 1. They want us to fill out more on the market conditions," Kennison said. "That may be prolonging the application process."

The Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service recorded increased sales activity in March, and appraisers said April numbers likely will follow suit.

"Things have definitely picked up," said Jesse Zeigler, an appraiser with Patricia Cunningham Residential Appraiser in Jacksonville. "A lot of Realtors say they have pending sales. I know of one that has 14 in escrow. A while back it was maybe one or two a month."

Although the market is nowhere near the frenzy of 2004 or 2005, falling interest rates have led homeowners to investigate refinancing. The additional regulations, reflecting problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have added to the workload and the extended the time needed to complete an appraisal.

"During the boom, it took an average of six to eight hours," Kennison said. "Now, it's pretty much doubled. It takes between eight and 15 or 16 hours per appraisal, depending on the property. Because of the climate we're working in, we're doing more for less money; it's the basic economics of survival."

Zeigler said it's possible there was some delayed response this year from people who were sitting on the fence last year.

"When it comes to refinancing , if there is any hint of rates going lower, people are going to wait," Zeigler said. "When it goes down, people will jump. We had people at election time last year saying they were going to wait and see what (President) Obama was going to do about mortgages."

Zeigler said there are signs, or at least a feel, that the market is bottoming out.
"People are recognizing this as more of a normal market and a lot of the foreclosures are being absorbed," he said.

Rapidly falling prices in some areas didn't necessarily reflect values in others. What plagues appraisers sometimes is dealing with property where comparable sales are hard to find.

"We're finding good recent sales in a lot of our markets," Zeigler said. "Banks tightened up so much that they won't accept comparable sales, in a lot of cases, that are older than 90 days or three months. They want everything current. It's hard to find comparables on higher-end homes out on acreage if for whatever reason they are not selling."

He said that foreclosures or other distress sales in an area can drive down the value, because owners have cut prices to unload the property.

"Sometimes current sales aren't reliable if comparable properties are overly distressed," Zeigler said.