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When marijuana grow operations are down the street

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Does it matter for value if there are a few legal marijuana grow operations in the neighborhood? That’s not really a question we asked much in the past, but it’s definitely a reality in many portions of California now since recreational marijuana was approved at the ballots last year. I know this is a polarizing topic, but legal cannabis cultivation is something we have to pay attention to now in real estate – regardless of our personal views. Today let’s look at a specific situation I encountered a few weeks ago and consider a few takeaways.

Not an advocate: Just to clarify, I am writing for the sake of analyzing real estate trends. I am not a cannabis advocate in any way and this post is not about whether marijuana is good or not for society.

If you didn’t see in the SacBee, there are now 108 locations within the City of Sacramento with a commercial cannabis permit in process. This means there are at least 108 planned legal grow operations. The largest cluster is in an industrial section off Power Inn Road, but there are quite a few in North Sacramento too.

The situation: I appraised a house on Eldridge Avenue in Sacramento a few weeks back and I discovered there are three commercial cannabis cultivation permits on file with the city one street to the south. This is a residential area, but it’s next to industrial properties.

On Kathleen Avenue there are residential homes to the north and the “green zone” to the south. In many cases commercial grow operations will be far from residential homes, but not in every case as seen below.

Three things to consider about legal cannabis cultivation:

1) Neighborhood trends: Part of knowing the market and being a real estate expert is being in tune with what is happening in the neighborhood – even in the commercial sector. If you haven’t bookmarked the SacBee cannabis map, I recommend doing that. You can also see where marijuana dispensaries are located here.

2) Disclosure: Anyone who works in real estate needs to consider what disclosure looks like when we find out about cannabis grows nearby. I won’t tell anyone what to disclose or how to do it because that’s not my role, but knowing about commercial cannabis grow operations might be a good place to start. This is especially true in a situation like the one above where one side of the street is residential and the other side is industrial. This is a conversation that each appraisal firm and brokerage ought to have as the legal cannabis industry emerges. In my appraisal report on Eldridge Ave I simply disclosed my knowledge of three cannabis cultivation permits one street south of the subject property. Remember, it is illegal to have a commercial cannabis operation in a residential home, so disclosure is probably something we’ll think about more when there are nearby industrial properties. Moreover, it is only legal to grow commercially in the City of Sacramento as most other areas including Sacramento County have said NO to legal commercial grow operations (for now).

3) Value impact: Over time we’ll have to ask if there is a value impact due to proximity of cannabis cultivation businesses. Right now this is all so new and we are only seeing the beginning of an emerging industry take root in Sacramento. Keep in mind there are very strict guidelines for these businesses, and the City of Sacramento is putting rules in place to ensure neighborhoods and areas don’t “go to pot” so to speak (pun intended). There are rules for security, safety, proximity to schools, and even odor. In many cases these businesses could operate without any visible evidence at all. Though if there does end up being a problem with odor, crime, or stigma, then that’s something we’ll have to watch and consider. On a side note, it seems many of these grow operations so far are located in areas with lower property values. To be fair there may be more industrial properties in these locations, but this is still something to watch closely.

4) Other: What is #4?

Cannabis class I’m teaching: By the way, I’m teaching a class at SAR called “The emerging trend of marijuana in real estate” on August 30. I’ll talk for 60-75 minutes about zoning, land value, disclosures, etc… More details here.

Questions: Do nearby cannabis businesses need to be disclosed? What do you think we need to look for to know if there is any impact to value? Anything else to add? I’d love to hear your take.

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The fidget spinner “bubble” and softening real estate values

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I see fidget spinners everywhere. It’s incredible how popular they’ve become over the past few months, right? Though like any fad, the market is about to change. Well, that’s what my 11-year old son thinks anyway. He sensed a “bubble” brewing, so he unloaded some of his spinner inventory on the last day of school and ended up raking in $37 (little stud). 

Slower “spin” in real estate: About this time of year the real estate market begins to cool or “spin” more slowly so to speak. Though at times it feels controversial or blasphemous to say that because it goes against the grain of an ultra-positive real estate shtick. Yet no matter what, it’s normal for values to soften every year, and right now we seem to be in the beginning stages of that. This doesn’t mean the market is not incredibly competitive still or values have stopped increasing. It just means high altitude values in spring tend to subtly begin a downward descent right about now.

Pregnancy analogy: The problem is when the market slows we don’t see it in the stats yet for a couple months. It’s like taking a pregnancy test. You can be pregnant, but an over-the-counter test won’t tell you that for two weeks even though your body has 100% changed. Similarly, the real estate market may have begun to shift, but we might not see any difference in the stats yet. For example, almost every year July sales take longer to sell than June sales. It’s easy to then say, “The market changed in July.” But the truth is things actually began to change in May and June. After all, let’s remember the sales that closed in July got into contract in May and June. Thus when July sales stats show a slowing, it really tells us the market began to slow a couple months prior.

The Point: Whether spinners or real estate, let’s watch for signs of change so we can speak definitively about trends and give solid advice. Let’s be cautious to not talk about markets like they always stay the same either.

I hope that was helpful or interesting. Any thoughts?

–——-——- Big monthly market update (it’s long on purpose) ———–——-

If you didn’t know, sales volume last month was the strongest May we’ve seen over the past 4 years. But don’t get too excited because sales volume for the entire year is about the same as last year. No matter how we look at it, price metrics are up 7-9% from 2016 and they increased by 2-4% last month. One of the themes that won’t go away is we have a shortage of housing. In fact, housing supply is 22% lower right now compared to last year, and it’s been putting pressure on values to increase – particularly at entry-level price ranges. The tricky part lately is many contracts are getting bid up due to multiple offers (even beyond a reasonable appraised value). This can favor sellers accepting offers from buyers who have more cash to make up the difference between the appraised value and the contract price, though FHA sales stats show first-time buyers are still finding ways to close deals. In higher price ranges the market feels much softer, though we are still seeing multiple offers when properties are priced correctly. This is a good reminder that it’s possible for the market to feel more aggressive than actual value increases. In other words, having multiple offers doesn’t mean values are increasing rapidly or at all. Lastly, we are starting to hear more about lenders rolling out 100% financing to help buyers artificially afford higher prices (sounds healthy, right?). I could go on and on with words, but let me share some graphs to show the market visually.

DOWNLOAD 55 graphs (and a stat sheet) HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

Sacramento County graphs this month (more here):

Sacramento regional graphs (more here):

DOWNLOAD 55 graphs (and a stat sheet) HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim).

Questions: Do you think we’re in a fidget spinner “bubble”? What else are you seeing in the real estate market? Did I miss anything? I’d love to hear your take.

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5 things to keep in mind about rising rates and values

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Rising interest rates is one of the big topics right now in real estate. I don’t know about you, but I find myself having rate conversations all the time, so I thought we could maybe kick around some thoughts. Anything to add?

rates and value - sacramento appraisal group

5 things to consider about rising rates and values:

1) Duh, values will soften: Rising interest rates can affect the ability of buyers to afford higher prices because mortgages become more expensive (thanks Captain Obvious). Unless there is another factor to help prop values up, rising rates can naturally lead to softer values. To be fair though, let’s remember rates are not the only driving factor to make value go up or down in real estate.

2) Demand is strong enough: Rising rates can certainly impact affordability, but the interesting part to consider is we have a shortage of housing inventory. This means there is actually room for some buyers to completely leave the market (or be priced out) because there would still be enough buyers left to afford higher prices. On one hand I am very skeptical of articles that say rising rates will not impact buyers at all because that sounds like spin. Yet we do have to entertain the reality of demand being strong enough to a certain extent to deal with some rate increases without much value change (assuming modest increases of course).

3) The squeeze on lower-end buyers: In a market with rising rates, it’s buyers with less money that will be impacted the most because some buyers are on the brink of struggling to afford the market already. Thus an increase in interest rates that makes a $100 or $200 difference in a mortgage payment can be a very big deal for someone on a tight budget. Moreover, buyers with larger down payments simply have more power when making offers, negotiating, paying beyond appraised value, etc…. But before we start saying buyers putting less money down cannot play the real estate game, let’s look at actual stats. If you didn’t know, 25% of all sales last month in Sacramento County were FHA (very low down payment required) and nearly 29% of all sales under $400,000 went FHA. It’s easy to say things like, “Buyers without real money down are not winning in this market,” but the stats say otherwise.

4) Lenders getting creative: When rates rise it can put pressure on lenders to get more “creative” in their financing so more buyers can keep playing the market. In other words, lenders can help buyers artificially afford higher prices with newer and looser loan programs that compensate for higher rates. Part of me hopes lenders put movies like The Big Short and Inside Job in their Netflix queue just to remember how much power they truly have when it comes to making markets move. On a realistic level though, the lending market probably could loosen up a bit in a healthy sense since the regulation pendulum swung very far after the “bubble” burst. For anyone who has tried to get a loan recently, you know how rigorous and stressful it is. Simply put, getting a loan is not as easy as pushing a “rocket” button on a smart phone app.

5) Pressure to buy “before it’s too late”: Many buyers feel pressure to get into the market before rates get too much higher, and that’s a dynamic likely to persist throughout this year as discussions about rate increases ensue. It’s as if buyers feel like they have a small window of time to act before they are forever doomed and shut out of the housing market. What do you think of that? What advice or wisdom would you share with buyers feeling this way?

Questions: What is #6? How do you think rising rates will impact the market? Did I miss anything? I’d love to hear your take.

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5 things to remember about the value of landscaping

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How much value does landscaping really add? Nothing. A minor amount. A huge total. I’ve heard it all when it comes to what people think landscaping is worth. Today let’s kick around some ideas from an appraisal standpoint. Anything to add?

landscaping in appraisals - sacramento appraisal blog

5 things to remember about the value of landscaping

1) The myth of no value: I’ve heard the sentiment from some real estate professionals that landscaping does not count toward the value. My take? Landscaping is often very important to buyers – especially when it is extensive or highly expected in certain neighborhoods.

2) Front vs back: My sense is front yard landscaping does not sway buyers like the backyard does. I’m not saying it’s not important or curb appeal doesn’t matter (it does). I’m only saying the rear yard tends to make a much more significant impact on value since people spend more time there.

3) One size doesn’t fit all: The value of landscaping will vary significantly depending on the price range and neighborhood. For instance, a few years back during the height of home flipping activity, it was common to see flippers at the lower end of the market do very basic cosmetic landscaping in the front yard while doing almost nothing with the backyard (seriously, rear yards were at times just dirt or bordering on unkempt). In contrast, higher priced homes were getting full-service attention in both the front and backyard. Why? Because the market had different expectations by price range and the investors’ sense was spending the money was worth it in some neighborhoods and not others.

4) On par after huge money spent: Sometimes owners will spend good money to redo an unkempt yard only to expect a huge price premium. The problem is post-landscaping the owner is now basically on par with other homes in the neighborhood rather than in a position to command a premium. This is not easy to swallow, but it’s important to recognize in order to avoid overpricing. 

5) Dollar for dollar: While we like to get a “dollar for dollar” return on our improvement projects (at the least), that’s not always possible in real estate. So when an owner says, “I spent $125,000 in my backyard” and otherwise similar homes are selling for $700,000, can we really expect this property to be worth $825,000? That’s probably not realistic, right? Most of all though, let’s find comps with incredible landscaping and let those properties tell the story of value. That way we are letting actual market data speak to us to set the tone for what buyers have been willing to pay for similar landscaping. Isn’t that better than shooting from the hip about what landscaping may or may not be worth?

Case-in-point for an incredible backyard: While appraising in the Natomas area of Sacramento I came across a house with an incredible backyard. I ended up NOT using it as a “comp” because this property sold about 10% higher than others because of the built-in pool, custom covered patio, built-in BBQ, outdoor fireplace, and everything else in the yard. I’m not calling all of these things landscaping of course, but at the same time let’s be realistic to think buyers may lump some of these items in the same category. Anyway, at times it’s tempting to give a token $10,000 upward value adjustment when we see a nice rear yard because that’s what a mentor taught us to do, but sometimes the market is willing to pay more like 10%. In this case otherwise similar homes seemed to come in around $450,000 and the subject sold for $495,000 (there were 7 offers). There was one other sale at $485,000 and it also had a sweet backyard. As you can see on the graph, the incredible backyard seemed to really matter.

incredible landscaping - sacramento appraisal blog

Here is what the rear yard looked like. I could live with that. You?

house with amazing rear yard - sacramento appraiser

Remember, let’s find a few examples of extensive rear landscaping (or an amazing backyard) if possible so we don’t base our perception of value on only one sale. After all, what is that one sale sold too high or too low?

The Washington Post: Two weeks ago I wrote a post about the ugly side of appraisal fees, and as a result Ken Harney of The Washington Post interviewed a handful of appraisers (including me) for a piece that went live today. Ken is a nationally syndicated columnist, so the conversation that took place here is going to be moving to a much bigger level. Thank you everyone. Here is Ken’s article.

Questions: What stands out to you most about what I mentioned above? What is #6? Did I miss something?

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