Empirical Investigation into the Limitations of the Normative Paired Sales Adjustment Method

This study investigates the normative paired sales adjustment method employed by appraisers in the sales comparison approach. It finds that the method fails to account for the diminishing marginal price effects of property attributes. The study develops an empirical model to test the marginal price effects of view and lot-size amenities. The finding is that the empirical data confirm land economic theory and identify a need to study and develop improved methods for estimating adjustments to comparable sales.

Structural Analysis of U.S. Appraiser Income

This study represents the first investigation of appraiser income at the national level. It is especially timely because it addresses the value of Appraisal Institute designations in a post-FIRREA world, in addition to investigating the impact of gender on appraiser income. The study employs a worker-productivity, human-capital model and finds that appraiser income is positively and significantly impacted by the amount of work effort expended, the level of appraisal experience, and the formal education and professional training attained by an appraiser. Appraisal Institute designations are found to have a significant and positive impact on income, even in a post-FIRREA world of required appraiser licensing and certification. Gender does not appear to impact appraiser income. However, questions do arise regarding the status of female (and minority) appraisers.

Client Feedback and the Role of the Appraiser

Appraisers routinely work at solving ill-structured valuation problems where the normative performance criterion is an objective judgement of market value as of the valuation date. This study, theoretically grounded in the lens model of perceptual theory, investigates the effect of client feedback on appraisers’ perceptions of their role in the loan underwriting process. It investigates the extent of cognitive departure from the normative role toward perception of being a validator of pending sale prices. An instrument is devised to measure environmental perception feedback, coercive feedback and positive reinforcement of the normative performance criterion. Client feedback is found to have a significant effect on appraisers’ role perceptions and on appraisers’ perceptions of the of the lender-client’s performance criterion. Appraisers who receive a great deal of environmental perception feedback and coercive feedback are more likely to view themselves as price validators, whereas appraisers exposed to positive reinforcement of the normative performance criterion are more likely view themselves as providers of objective opinions of market value.

Leave Vacant or Rent: The Optimal Decision for Absentee Home Sellers

Home-sellers may not occupy their property when listed for sale. While previous research has analyzed the effect of a vacancy on the sales price of residential properties, no research to date has quantified the economic benefits and costs of renting vis-à-vis leaving a property vacant while listed for sale. Renting a property will produce revenue but perhaps at the cost of a lower sale price and/or longer time on the market. This paper employs data on 55,202 homes sold in the Las Vegas, Nevada area to determine if renting a property increases or decreases the wealth position of home sellers. The results of an empirical test of the model are used to quantify the wealth effect. The findings indicate that renting the property produces a significant reduction in the home seller’s wealth position.

The Relationship between Foreclosure Status and Apartment Price

Empirical studies disclose that foreclosed residential properties sell at a discount from the expected market price for non-foreclosed residences. This investigation shows that prior findings on residential properties can be extended to include income-producing properties. In addition, it employs market rent to control for variation in property quality. An analysis of apartment sales in Phoenix, Arizona, demonstrates that foreclosure-status apartments sell at a 22% discount when compared to non-foreclosure apartment sales. The rationale for accepting discounted process may be atypical seller motivations such as a need to satisfy regulatory capital requirements, to mitigate negative stock price effects, or to protect credit ratings.

Equity REIT Property Acquisitions: Do Apartment REITs Pay a Premium?

Negotiation theory and implied agency costs provide the foundation for the research hypothesis that equity real estate investment trusts (EREITs) may have paid premiums when making real property acquisitions during the 1990s REIT boom. Using a simultaneous equations model and data from the Atlanta, Phoenix and Seattle apartment markets, this research finds that apartment EREITs have paid above market prices for property acquisitions. In Atlanta, a 26.1% premium was evident; in Phoenix, a 27.5% premium was evident; while in Seattle, a premium was not evident. At the property level, the returns to EREITs and private sector or non-securitized investors may differ substantially.

Micro-Market Determinants of Neighborhood Center Rental Rate

This investigation expands the limited empirical research on retail rental rates by investigating the determinants of neighborhood shopping center rents. Evidence supports primary trade area and property specific characteristics as the primary determinants of neighborhood center vacancy and rental rates. A positive aggregation effect created by higher order shopping opportunities is also found. Community centers and malls generate positive marginal effects on neighborhood center rental rates. However, the marginal effects diminish greatly after two-tenths mile for community centers and one-half mile for malls. Micro-market factors are important determinants of rental rates and by implication property performance.

An Empirical Analysis of Community Center Rents

This article is the winner of the Retail Real Estate manuscript prize (sponsored by the International Council of Shopping Centers) presented at the 2001 American Real Estate Society Annual Meeting. This study empirically models the determinants of community center rent. It employs a two-stage model that estimates center vacancy in the first stage and then includes predicted vacancy in a second stage demand model investigating endogenous and exogenous determinants of community center rent. The data includes information on maximum and minimum square foot rent for 118 community centers in Atlanta, Georgia. Maximum community center rent is highly correlated with a center’s predicted vacancy rate and location within the Atlanta area. Additionally, rent at both maximum and minimum levels is influenced by trade area purchasing power, property age and to a lesser extent by proximity to a regional mall, center design and neighborhood factors.