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‘Another Issue Plaguing the Housing Market’ Boulder
Sep 7th
Through all the ups and downs the housing market has been going through, one key issue is holding the market back from growing. The market IS seeing lots of improvement from a year ago but that is just from housing activity and not the facts. The activity in the market has been growing over the past year but the facts of the matter is that, nationally, we are not improving when it comes to home appraisals and valuation. Home appraisals are the staple to the healthy economy and because of the past few years of poor valuation we are seeing the effects today…Here is why:
Before the housing bust, home appraisals were getting out of hand, making higher valuations than the property was worth. This market characteristic contributed heavily to the housing bust, homes were jumping up 10-16% a year, when on an average year home values are to appreciate between 2-4%. This spike in home values lead to the crash and the appraised values plummeted and over the past 3 years we have seen large de-valuation of homes where they were highly valued.
The home appraisals of today are the effects of the high appraisals and the low home values of the past 3 years. What is happening today is that home valuations are turning up lower than the REAL value of the home. What I mean by REAL value of the home, is that a home may actually be worth $500,000 BUT because of the low appraisals of the past few years, the home that has a REAL value of $500,000 will end up being appraised at a lower value because the appraiser does not have comparable homes to compare it to. And if the appraiser does have homes to appraise it to, they are at a lower price because of the housing bubble bust and the home values of comparables that have sold recently are at a lower price, therefore, causing the home with the REAL value of $500,000 to be valued below its worth at say $450,000.
Now you may be thinking, ok, its valued at $450,000 but im going to put it on the market for the $500,000 because that the real price it should be appraised at. The problem here is 99 out of 100 times a buyer will want to see the most recent home appraisal and if the appraisal says the home is worth $450,000 and not $500,000 (as listed) the buyer will not be willing to go above $450,000 on the home and will end up buying a house down the street and leaving yours on the market for a long long time.
This is a very interesting subject to keep track of, because until home appraisers can figure out a better system to appraise homes, we may be stuck in this downward appraisal turmoil for a long time. The appraisal system has the power to turn the housing market around and bring things back to normal.
I’d love to hear some comments on home owners/ home buyers/ home sellers, and what you think about all of this.
Bill Allen is a Realtor in Boulder and works at Remax of Boulder
Boulder Police investigating attempted robbery at Ace Cash Express
Sep 6th
Police artist sketch of robbery suspect
Still on the Loose!
Police are searching for a male suspect who tried to rob a clerk at the Ace Cash Express at 3350 Arapahoe Ave. a little after 10:00 a.m. today.
The suspect approached the clerk and began a transaction. The female clerk was working behind protective glass and as she reached for his money through the small opening in the glass, the suspect grabbed her fingers and held on to her, demanding the cash she had been counting for him.
The suspect was bending the victim’s fingers back toward the glass during this conversation. She could not free herself from his grip, but he let go suddenly when he saw an unidentified male walk past the windows outside of the business. The suspect then ran away on foot, westbound on Arapahoe Ave.
A sketch of the suspect is attached. The suspect is described as:
· White male in his early 40s
· Curly, light-brown hair that was combed back, curly below the jaw line and in back
· 5’5”
· Medium build
· Wearing green shorts; shorts had either paint or drywall mud or bleach on them
· Dull white T-shirt
Police conducted a search of nearby businesses and a sweep of the bike path, but were unable to locate the suspect.
Paramedics checked the victim’s hand at the scene and it does not appear that she was seriously injured.
Anyone with information about this attempted robbery or who may recognize the suspect is asked to contact Detective Heather Frey at 303-441-3369. Those who have information but wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
— CITY–
Boulder Library: Nicholas Carr Lecture & Book Signing
Sep 4th
News,
The Nicholas Carr Lecture & Book Signing: The Shallows event is scheduled for Saturday 9/17/2011 at 3:00 PM. The description for the event is: Join us for an author talk with Nicholas Carr on The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. The Shallows was a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Mr. Carr will present a lecture, followed by a Q&A and book signing.
Carr’s book expands on his notable Atlantic essay, Is Google Making us Stupid? Part intellectual history, part popular science, part cultural criticism; The Shallows offers a compelling exploration of the history of information technology and how new research in neuroscience reveals startling implications for the way we think and learn.
Copies of Carr’s book will be available for purchase and signing after the lecture.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, call 303-441-3194
