Sacramento Appraisal Blog

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Photos from the Field: Jacked House & River in West Sacramento

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I was driving through West Sacramento today after an appraisal inspection and I snapped the following images while taking comp photos. This house is located off of Jefferson Blvd. and is jacked up on what appears to be stilts. Maybe it was recently moved? Maybe it is awaiting a permanent foundation? Things like this interest me.

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Here is an image of the Sacramento River from South River Road in West Sacramento. The River divides Yolo County from Sacramento County. I really enjoy days when I get to appraise properties near locations like this because the scenery is just wonderful to take in and the drive is so peaceful. Regarding properties along the river, most houses do not have a direct view of the river due to the levy, but some do have water rights, which can make a huge difference in market value. If you are from the area, do you ever take drives along South River Road or even in places like Iselton, Courtland and surrounding Sacramento Delta areas?

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www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Photos from the Field: Jacked House & River in West Sacramento

Comparing Five Months of Unemployment Rates in Sacramento County

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309What’s been happening with Sacramento County unemployment rates over the past five months? Below are the most recent figures for unemployment per the Employment Development Department. The rates encompass both cities and Census Designated Places (CDP) in Sacramento County from May through September 2009. Data for October 2009 has not yet been released (wait until the third week of November for that). 

As of September 2009, Sacramento County as a whole has an unemployment rate of 12.2% (August was 12.3%, July was 12.0%, June was 11.6% and May was 11.1%). What do you notice about the data below? Does anything stand out to you or surprise you?

Arden Arcade CDP  11.8% (August 11.9%, July 11.7%, June 11.4%, May 10.8%)

Carmichael CDP  9.0%, (August 9.1%, July 8.9%, June 8.7%, May was 8.2%)

Citrus Heights city  8.6% (August 8.6%, July 8.5%  June 8.3%, May 7.8%)

Elk Grove CDP  9.9% (August 10.0%, July 9.8%, June 9.6%, May 9.0%)

Fair Oaks CDP  6.8% (August 6.8%, July 6.7% , June 6.6%, May 6.2%)

Florin CDP  18.1% (August 18.2%, July 17.9  June 17.6%, May 16.7%)

Folsom city  5.6% (August 5.6%, July 5.5%, June 5.4%, May 5.1%)

Foothill Farms CDP  15.5% (August 15.6%, July 15.3%, June 15.0%, May 14.2%)

Galt city  18.3% (August 18.4%, July 18.1% , June 17.8%, May 16.9%)

Gold River CDP  2.1% (August 2.1%, July 2.0%, June 2.0%, May 1.9%)

Isleton city  13.0% (August 13.2%, July 12.9%, June 12.5%, May 11.8%)

La Riviera CDP  6.7% (August 6.7%, July 6.6%, June 6.5%, (May 6.1%)

Laguna CDP  6.3% (August 6.4%, July 6.2%, June 6.1%, May 5.8%)

Laguna West Lakeside CDP  8.2% (August 8.3%, July 8.1%, June 8.0%, May 7.5%)

North Highlands CDP  17.8% (August 18.0%, July 17.6%, June 17.3%, May 16.4%)

Orangevale CDP  8.7% (August 8.8%, July 8.6%, June 8.5%, May 8.0%)

Parkway South Sacramento CDP  20.2% (August 20.4%, July 20.0%, June 19.7%, May 18.7%)

Rancho Cordova City  13.9% (August 14.0%, July 13.8%, June 13.5%, May 12.8%)

Rancho Murieta CDP  3.8% (August 3.8%, July 3.7%, June 3.7%, May 3.5%)

Rio Linda CDP  17.7% (August 17.8%, July 17.5%, June 17.2%, May 16.3%)

Rosemont CDP  9.6% (August 9.7%, July 9.5%, June 9.3%, May 8.8%)

Sacramento city  14.2% (August 14.3%, July 14.1%, June 13.8%, May 13.1%)

Vineyard CDP  5.7% (August 5.7%, July 5.6%, June 5.5%, May 5.2%)

Walnut Grove CDP  26.5% (August 26.5%, July 26.2%, June 25.6%, May 24.5%)

Wilton CDP  7.5% (August 7.5%, July 7.4% , June 7.2%, May 6.8%)

Every single category above, whether city or CDP, either remained the same from August to September 2009 or saw a slight decrease in unemployment rate. There was no increase in unemployment rate in any area of Sacramento County from August to September 2009. If there was a prize for lowest unemployment rate in Sacramento County, Gold River would be the winner at 2.1%. On the other end of the spectrum, Walnut Grove has the highest unemployment rate in Sacramento County at 26.5%.

Let me know if you have any questions about the latest figures. You are welcome to call 916-595-3735 or email ryan@lundquistcompany.com.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Comparing Five Months of Unemployment Rates in Sacramento County

The Speed of Pitching for the Los Angeles Angels: ALCS 10-25-09

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I make trend graphs for my real estate appraisal work nearly every day on the job, and since I’m a huge baseball fan, I figured I’d make a scatter graph of the speed of pitches for the Los Angeles Angels during the last game of the American League Championship Series on 10-25-09. I know, it sounds a bit geeky, but when I get a random idea like this, sometimes I just have to make it happen. I would have also plotted the New York Yankees, but Fox did not display pitch speed for the Yankees’ entire first inning, and I was also feeling like tracking two teams was going to be way too tedious for a relaxing Sunday evening. Here is what I came up with:

Speed of Los Angeles Angels Pitching 10-25-09 American League Championship Series

If you notice, there is a gap of data between pitch 23 and 35, and that is because Fox did NOT supply the data for whatever reason. It seemed that most of the time Fox displayed pitch speed, but oddly they missed nearly all of the second inning for the Angels (as well as the first inning for the Yankees). You’ll also notice I missed a few pitches on accident (17, 123) and that during the 8th inning I called it quits. Between spending time with family, having two toddlers running around, and getting tired of watching more intently than I usually do, I figured it was time to hang up my MLB statistician hat and simply enjoy the rest of the game.

Key Points:

  • The spread of speed varied by about 20 mph.
  • Joe Saunders pitched from pitch 1 to pitch 115.
  • Ervin Santana pitched from pitch 116 to 130.
  • In the 8th inning when I called it quits, there were two more pitchers from the Angels who went to the mound (Scott Kazmir & Jered Weaver).

This was just for fun. Feel free to comment if you’d like. Or if you have any ideas for what sort of baseball stat I might experiment with graphing during the World Series, let me know what you think.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com The Speed of Pitching for the Los Angeles Angels: ALCS 10-25-09

Do comps need to be within a one-mile radius?

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Do appraisers need to use comps within a one-mile radius of the property they are appraising? That’s a good question. Many times underwriting guidelines of various lenders mandate that the appraiser MUST use comps located within a mile of the subject property.

I was thinking about this today after a conversation I had with a Realtor in Sacramento about his renovated listing that is pending far higher than anything else in the immediate neighborhood. His suggestion was that the appraiser for his deal should use comps North of the immediate neighborhood, while ignoring the most recent sales on surrounding streets. I know, this sounds heinous, but there is actually some validity to his case because the neighborhood to the North is competitive to the subject neighborhood, and only big-time fixers have sold recently on surrounding streets to the subject.

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What does Fannie Mae say? The Fannie Mae Seller’s Guide (PDF) addresses the importance of selecting a minimum of three truly comparable properties in an appraisal report, but there is no mention anywhere of a “one mile radius” standard. The Fannie Mae Seller’s Guide is 1,126 pages, so if you are interested in researching more about comp selection, start at page 477 and scan through 5-10 pages. Fannie Mae basically says that the appraiser needs to use the best available similar properties for comparison, and that comps from competing neighborhoods can be used too (but the appraiser must explain why he/she went out of the immediate neighborhood to utilize “comps” from a different neighborhood – there better be a good reason).

Ultimately lenders have set up their own “one-mile” guideline. Many underwriters mandate that an appraiser is to stay within a one-mile radius of the subject property when in a suburban setting and then a five-mile radius when in a rural area. That’s fine as long as the best available comparables are truly located within those parameters, and if the lender can be understanding why this rule does not work out in every case too. In an ideal world, there will be three recent model match sales within a 1/4 mile of the subject property. But anyone in the housing industry knows how rare that is – especially in today’s market. 

I can see the value of a “one mile” guideline from a lender’s standpoint because they want to make sure that an appraiser is not cherry-picking comps from a far superior neighborhood to justify an inflated value in a neighborhood where properties sell for astronomically less. For example, when looking at the map above, an appraiser probably shouldn’t be selecting “comps” from Curtis Park or Land Park when appraising in Oak Park – unless there is a sincerely good reason to do so of course.

Let me know if you have any questions. 916-595-3735.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Do comps need to be within a one-mile radius?

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