Architecturally Significant Homes Appraise Higher Than the Comparables
My experience is that appraisers are very conscientious and very good at what they do. Rarely have I asked for an appraisal to be reviewed because I thought it was incorrect and too low. On the few occasions that I have asked a lender to review an appraisal, a review panel of appraisers has indeed raised the appraisal.
However, I often have discussions with appraisers on more global issues regarding approaches to value in a neighborhood or the city. I might also share my perspective on a specific property or type of property.
For years, one of the most influential and respected appraisers among banks and Realtors was D. W. Skelton. I recall arranging for him to do a pre-appraisal on a property to help determine the listing price of a Charles Dilbeck home on Shenandoah—one of the “Four Sisters.” He came back with a well-thought-out and well-documented appraisal using five good University Park comparables.
I told D. W. that I thought he had done a good appraisal, but that I believed he was 10% low on what the home would sell for. He asked why I thought that. I said the home was a Charles Dilbeck, architecturally significant home that would command a 10% premium. I then listed the property for 10% more than his appraisal, and we received three offers in the first week and closed within 12 days at full price.
The next time I saw D. W. Skelton, he told me he had begun giving architect-designed, architecturally significant homes, like the Charles Dilbeck home I had just sold, a 10% premium because of their architectural significance.
Architecturally significant homes often sell at a premium that conventional comparables do not fully capture.
Discuss Representation of an Architecturally Significant Home with Douglas Newby
