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June 2006 |
A Publication of ELLIOTT®
& Company Appraisers |
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MORE PEOPLE ATTEMPTING TO BECOME REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS |
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 The
number of people seeking training to become real estate appraisers
is rising dramatically. Kaplan Professional Schools, one of the
largest trainers of appraisers in the United States has seen a 10%
increase in students in that category.
One reason for such an increase is that educational requirements for
prospective appraisers are changing on January 1, 2008, and people
are trying to become licensed before the change. On that date, the
amount of education hours required for one to become a licensed
appraiser is going up from 90 to 150. To become certified, an
appraiser will need 200 hours in 2008, up from 120. To become a
certified general appraiser in ’08, one will need 300 hours of
appraisal education, up from 180. Also on that date, a college
degree will be required of certified general appraisers and an
associate degree will be required for all certified appraisers.
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SECOND-HOME SALES BROKE RECORDS IN 2005 |
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 Sales
of investment homes and vacation homes climbed to new heights last year.
According to the National Association of Realtors in its annual report
of second-home sales, investment-home sales rose 15.7% last year from
2004 to 2.32 million, while vacation-home sales went up 16.9%, during
the same period, to 1.02 million.
The NAR report stated that the median price of an investment home rose
24% in 2005 to $183,500, while the median price of a vacation home
increased 7.4% to $204,100. Investment homes accounted for 27.7% of all
home sales in 2005, while 12.2% of homes sold were vacation homes.
Second homes accounted for 39.9% of all residential real estate
transactions last year, up from 36% in '04.
"The baby-boom generation is driving second-home sales," said David
Lereah, NAR’s chief economist. "They’re at the optimum point in life
when people become interested in second homes. They’re at the peak of
their earnings; interest rates remain historically low; and boomers want
to diversify investments." |
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SOME CONDOS ARE BEING
RECONVERTED TO APARTMENTS |
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 When
interest rates were low and housing-price appreciation was high earlier
in the decade, many apartment units were converted into condominiums.
Now that rates are creeping up and appreciation is slowing down, the
apartment-to-condo trend is beginning to reverse.
In two Florida two counties (Palm Beach and Broward), 2,100 units that
had previously been converted from apartments have recently, once again,
become apartments. Experts expect this trend to spread to other areas
where housing inflation has been especially high in recent years, such
as Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego.
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FORECLOSURES
CONTINUE TO INCREASE |
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According to Bloomberg News, the
amount of mortgages entering the foreclosure stage increased 72%
in the first quarter of 2006 from the first quarter of 2005. And
according to RealtyTrac Inc., lenders started the foreclosure
process on 323,102 mortgages or one per 358 U.S. households. One
reason behind this dramatic increase in foreclosures is said to
be the increase in required payments on adjustable-rate loans.
"When you couple the higher bills that people with adjustable
loans saw with the higher-than-expected energy costs, you see a
lot of homeowners stretched beyond the point where they could
make their payments," said Rich Sharge, vice president of
RealtyTrac.
Sharge pointed out that homeowners, who under earlier
circumstances could have sold their home to pay off the
mortgage, are now often prevented from doing so due to a weaker
housing market. |
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QUOTES OF WIT &
WISDOM |
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"By the time a man realizes
that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who
thinks he’s wrong." -- Charles Wadsworth
"No one can build his security upon the nobleness of another
person."
-- Willa Cather
"Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will
lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with
your life." -- David Burns
"Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being
one’s own person is its ultimate reward." --Patricia
Sampson
"A sign of celebrity is that his name is often worth more
than his services." -- Daniel Boorstin
"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech
you’ll ever regret." -- Laurence Peter
"If you want to see what children can do, you must stop
giving them things." -- Norman Douglas
"Conceit is God’s gift to little men." -- Bruce Barton
"All charming people have something to conceal, usually
their total dependence on the appreciation of others." --
Cyril Connolly
"There’s only one way to have a happy marriage, and as soon
as I learn what it is, I’ll get married again."
-- Clint Eastwood
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