Appraiser Income

IRVINE, Calif. – Feb. 1, 2018 — ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s largest multi-sourced property database, today released its Year-End and Q4 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows that home sellers in Q4 2017 realized an average home price gain since purchase of $54,000, up from $53,732 in the previous quarter and up from $47,133 in Q4 2016 to the highest since Q3 2007 — a more than 10-year high.

That $54,000 average home seller profit represented an average 29.7 percent return on investment compared to the original purchase price, up from 28.8 percent in the previous quarter and up from 26.8 percent in Q4 2016 to the highest average home seller ROI since Q3 2007.

“It’s the most profitable time to sell a home in more than 10 years yet homeowners are staying put longer than we’ve ever seen,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “While home sellers on the West Coast are realizing the biggest profits, rapid home price appreciation in red state markets is rivaling that of the high-flying coastal markets and producing sizable profits for home sellers in those middle-American markets as well.” …continue reading the rest of this post: Average Home Seller Profits at 10-Year High

I can’t believe it, I was going through notes on articles to write for 2017 and I totally missed the 2017 Appraisal Fee Survey from WorkingRE.com.

So I thought I would post information about it today.  You can find links to each state and get individual city information from there.  This is a very detailed report.  Thanks again Isaac and David!

2017 Fee Survey: Analyzing the Data

By Isaac Peck and David Brauner, Working RE Magaizne

For the last few years the appraisal industry has been abuzz with talk of rising appraisal fees and longer turn times. AMCs complain of a shortage of appraisers and “price gouging” in certain markets (Colorado and Oregon, for instance); appraisers report modest success at raising their fees after years of frustration (See Fees Rising). …continue reading the rest of this post: Fee Survey Revisited

Overall Economic Activity
Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts indicated that the economy continued to expand from late November through the end of the year, with 11 Districts reporting modest to moderate gains and Dallas recording a robust increase. The outlook for 2018 remains optimistic for a majority of contacts across the country. Most Districts reported that non-auto retail sales expanded since the last report and that auto sales were mixed. Some retailers highlighted that holiday sales were higher than expected. Residential real estate activity remained constrained across the country. Most Districts reported little growth in home sales due to limited housing inventory. Nonresidential activity continued to experience slight growth. Most manufacturers reported modest growth in overall business conditions. Reports indicated that some manufacturers increased capital expenditures over the reporting period. Most reporting Districts noted continued growth in transportation activity. Loan volumes in many Districts were steady. Among reporting Districts, agricultural conditions were mixed and energy contacts described a slight uptick in activity.

…continue reading the rest of this post: Beige Book Released – January 17, 2018 – Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District,

Well then you need the 2018 Appraisal Management Company Directory.

I took the time to rewrite most of the marketing information in the beginning of the book as well as add a bunch of AMCs that have been sending me good assignments over the past year.

You can order it here

90% of my work come from the first 37 on my list! – Get Started Today!

Online AMC Directory Available through a membership with the Private Appraisers Club – http://www.appraisersclub.com

Happy New Year!

It has been quite a while since I made a post to Appraiser Income and I wanted to give a little update on my appraisal business and the projects I have planned for 2018.

The past 4 years have been a complete whirlwind with way too much work that I could ever handle on my own.  I really focused on getting the best AMC clients to work with that had the best policies and paid the best fees.

Unfortunately I lost most of my non-lender work because I just could not charge the same fees as most of my AMCs were paying.  Most of that work I referred to other appraisers I know in San Diego county and put all of my non-lender marketing on hold.

I tried out a couple trainees during that time and it never seemed to make sense in terms of the hours I was putting in to training someone.  I love the idea of trying to help others get in to the appraisal industry, but it is discouraging when you end up working more for less.  For a number of other reasons, it just did not work out for me.

So that being said, I usually work for a handful of great AMCs and the volume of work I do for them change from time to time.  It is constantly rotating with some companies getting slow or losing clients and others growing and providing plenty of work.  Some raise their fees during the time I work for them, many lower their fees and I stop completing appraisals for them.  It is constantly changing.

I see the industry changing quite a bit over the next few years and feel like I have put all my eggs in the same basket as I have done many times in the past.  While I should have kept the non-lender side of my business happy with the steady stream of orders that were coming in, I gave it all away.

At the same time one of the AMCs I have been getting about 20% of my work went to the ‘in house appraiser’ model.  I still get a few orders from them a month, but  I don’t see any volume coming back.  Luckily during that time I added some new clients and I still had the best year ever.

Before I get caught completely off guard I have decided in 2018 to focus again on marking my appraisal business for non-lender clients.   I am also going to share this information in my blog post as I have talked to many appraisers that say they miss the posts, podcast and marketing information.  I am going to start of focusing on this blog and will hopefully get the podcast going again and remake a bunch of the training videos for the Appraiser’s Club.

Those are big goals, but I feel there are going to be some big changes in our industry and if you want to stay a busy appraiser you need to make time and focus on getting that non-lender work.  That work never goes away and you can always charge customary and reasonable fees.

If you stay on top of your marketing with easy to use systems, you will keep them coming back forever.  Since it has been so long since I used my old systems I am going to research new software and systems and make tutorials on how to do this on your own or with the help of a virtual assistant.

Thanks again for great feedback I have received over the years and I hope to help out all my fellow appraisers with great marketing information!  If you have any tips and advice on what is working in your appraisal business, please reach out to me by emailing me : appraiser@quickerservice.com

Here is to an amazing and productive 2018!

Sincerely,

Bryan Knowlton