Appraisal and Valuation of Real Estate Properties

Appraisers will report and lenders will use the land to building ratio in many commercial and industrial valuations, and in some residential ones as well. Learn how to calculate.

Are you guilty of contributing to a process the lenders and appraisers call "artificial declines?"

NABPOP, or the National Association of Broker Price Opinion Professionals, is an organization that brings together the consumers of BPOs with the agents and brokers who provide them. Learn about it here.

BPOs are a major source of revenue for many real estate agents and brokers. They are legal in most states, but you'll want to be sure about yours. Here's how I wasted time and money.

The BPO, or Broker Price Opinion, is a tool used by lenders and mortgage companies to value properties in situations where they believe the expense and delay of an appraisal is not necessary. Real estate brokers are given an order to do a BPO by the lender, mortgage company or loss mitigation company. The broker does either a Drive By BPO or an Internal BPO in most cases. Learn about doing BPO…

The two major groupings of BPO, or broker price opinions, are the drive by and the internal BPO. Learn more about them here.

A drive by BPO, or broker price opinion, seems like it could be as simple as driving by and shooting a picture or two from the car. Learn here what else can be involved.

The name Internal BPO would imply going into the home. This is definitely the case, however there could be much more involved. Learn the general requirements of an internal BPO.

Lenders, banks and loss mitigation companies use real estate brokers to provide a BPO, or broker price opinion, in certain situations where an appraisal isn't necessary or desired. Learn more.

US housing market statistics are quoted in a lot of places. One reliable index isn't widely publicized. The Standard and Poors Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are considered very accurate due to their methodology. Learn how they're constructed and why they're an excellent tool to understand the real estate market.

US housing market statistics are quoted in a lot of places. One reliable index isn't widely publicized. The Standard and Poors Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are considered very accurate due to their methodology. Learn how they're constructed and why they're an excellent tool to understand the real estate market.

US housing market statistics are quoted in a lot of places. One reliable index isn't widely publicized. The Standard and Poors Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are considered very accurate due to their methodology. Learn how they're constructed and why they're an excellent tool to understand the real estate market.

Appraisers and real estate professionals use similar comparisons of recently sold properties to value a subject property. Several comparable properties in the same area are chosen that sold in a reasonably recent period. By comparing features of the properties, an estimate is arrived at for the subject property.

Appraisers and real estate investors use the income method to value properties that produce rental income in some form. The net income a property generates is used to determine its fair market value. Primarily, capitalization rate and gross rent multiplier are calculations used in this method.

Real estate appraisers also estimate the value of a property by estimating what it would cost to replace or re-construct the property, disregarding the value of the land. This method considers location, age, construction type, roof type, square footage and other structure related items into account.

Supply and demand in the real estate business are different than in many fields or markets. That's because each real estate parcel is unique and real estate cannot be moved. In many fields or markets, if there is a shortage, more of the same product can be manufactured. The unique nature of real estate makes this impossible. You also cannot move more real estate into an area that has a short supply.