New Year’s resolutions. Newly minted constituencies. Healthcare, education and care. And the caregivers, teachers and elderly are at the top of the list. The national Centers for Disease Control have recommended the essential caregivers and vulnerable elderly receive
While it may seem obvious, this past year has taught us real estate pundits that our work is fraught with uncertainty. No matter how good our demand supply analysis is, stuff happens that we were not expecting. Enter COVID, with unforeseen impacts on our health
Appraisers concentrate on the economic analysis of real property though the lenses of the four great external forces: Governmental, economic, social, and environmental. They consider the four characteristics that are required to establish value in real estate (and many other assets): Demand, utility, scarcity, and transferability. Appraisers also consider physical forces, including environmental, topography, water, location, and climate effects.
So here we are, the day after the presidential election, and still waiting for the results. In ordinary times, this would be a feature event of the year with debate and discussion ensuing for weeks. But this is no ordinary year with lockdowns, closing and openings, testing, testing and more testing and now further lockdowns. It is enough to give anyone a migraine with no immediate relief in sight.
Are appraisers essential? They must be; just about every appraiser I know is flat-out busy. When the pandemic started, many, many people stopped working altogether, were told to work from home, were furloughed or laid off. Not so for appraisers. With declining mortgage interest rates and increasing property values, the loan-to-value ratios are also declining.
The Massachusetts and Rhode Island Chapter of the Appraisal Institute is hoping all of our friends and clients are continuing to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Appraisal Institute continues to offer timely education for all members. The national organization offers a weekly podcast, AI Answers, which showcases experts from across the country presenting valuable information for your appraisal practice.
The advent of COVID-19 brought about stay-at-home orders, self-quarantine, and social distancing which altered how and where appraisers do their work. A home office is not a new concept for many appraisers, but those working in a corporate environment now found themselves carving out a niche in their home to work; and while working from home can be great – no daily commute, wearing casual clothes, and TV breaks – it also has its downside.
Surveillance and diligence have prevailed in commercial real estate during rent ups, adaptive reuse and new construction. Contagion in schools and small and large gatherings have spiked virus data broadly as predicted. Prevention of local trends in behavior and contagion from spreading to built environment is the challenge for commercial real estate.
We have had a lot going in our favor over the last several years in the real estate business. The economy has been growing; unemployment has been at an all-time low; interest rates are at historic lows. On top of that, government has been typically pro-growth, with city mayors enticing new business to their cities. Things couldn’t be better, as seen by the historic boom in real estate development.
A little more than six months into…the new normal. So far, so good. A lot of counterintuitive results to be considered.
