Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California

Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Animal Advocates, Los Angeles, California
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Showing posts with label home sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home sales. Show all posts

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Altadena home and land statistics, values, prices, ages, sizes by Mary Cummins real estate appraiser

altadena, california, home sales, home values, mary cummins, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, eaton fire, fire appraisal, post fire appraisal, valuation


Here are some housing statistics for Altadena, California. This is the result of an MLS search for all homes sales for 12 months from 01/06/2024 to 01/06/2025 in Altadena up to the day before the Eaton fire started. One reason why so many homes burned is the median age of the homes. Median age was 78. Median year built was 1947. In 2010 California passed mandatory building standards for all new homes in wildfire zones. Those regulations prevented some homes from being destroyed. Many say fire resistant retrofitting should be mandatory for new and existing homes in these areas. Others say it's too cost prohibitive to force people to change their roof, siding, windows, doors, fences... Those regulations would have saved lives and probably would have saved most of the homes.

There were 291 home sales in Altadena during the search period. Prices range from $300K to $5M. Median $1,350,000.  Average $1,466,000. Minimum size two beds, one bath. Maximum 7 beds, 9 baths. Average size 3 beds, 2.5 baths 1,887 sf $1.466M. Median 3 bed, 2 bath 1,645 sf $1.35M. There were only three land sales for about $750-780K. 

Based on 1004MC data sales and list prices were both decreasing in the previous 12 months. End of year is always the slow seasonal time when homes sell for less. Still, median sale and list prices were decreasing before the seasonal slow period. The increasing interest rates had a big effect in this area. It could also be that more recent sales were fixers. 

7-12 months, 4-6 months, 3 months to end of search time.
Median Comparable Sale Price 1,404,000 1,350,000 1,250,000
Median Comparable List Price (All) 1,300,000 1,299,000 0

Homes were selling over list price.
Median Sale Price / Median List Price % 113.26% 104.25% 104.17%

Currently burned destroyed single family homes, land are listed post fire for $350K to $750K. This is at least 40-50% below median pre-fire land value and less than half of pre-fire home value. Anyone who buys the land still has to clear and test it. New homes must be built to current code. It will take months to clear the land before any construction can begin. Obviously land values vary by size, location, view, shape... These are not cookie cutter lots. There are some pending $479K to $750K median $572K. The destroyed land value properties are listed in land and home sales so search both at once.

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin

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Saturday, August 10, 2013

Real estate appraisers are not derailing home sales by Mary Cummins real estate appraiser

This writer below feels that real estate appraisers are holding the market back. The writer states that we consider tax assessment values in our appraisals. No, we don't. That would not be legal or accurate. I clear up a few other misconceptions in the article. I do agree that a buyer should have an appraisal contingency clause. Generally they do in the form of loan contingency. The loan is contingent upon the appraisal. If they are paying cash, then they should have an appraisal contingency clause. I also agree that owners need to consider their improvements carefully. There are articles they can easily find which will tell an owner in different markets which improvements will give them the best return on investment. Slight kitchen remodel, good return. Full kitchen remodel, you won't get all your money back. Now if you really enjoy cooking and will enjoy your kitchen for years while you live there, then it's a good investment for you personally. Just don't expect to get every penny spent back in increased sales price.

The article is linked. My comment is beneath it.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-appraisers-are-derailing-home-sales-2013-01-25

I'm also a Certified Residential Appraiser with over 28 years of experience. I agree with Mark. We don't look at tax assessment values. They rarely reflect the true value. That's why we sometimes do appraisals for home owners so the tax assessor can adjust their tax value. It would not be legal for us to appraise a property based on its tax value.

In today's real estate sales, refinance market there are some issues with appraisals. The biggest issue is that the homes that are selling now which we use as our matched pairs comparables in our appraisals include short sales, Real Estate Owned (REO) by banks and some not so prime properties. Because the market is finally picking up, anyone who could hold onto their property for increased value would do that. People with very desirable homes are generally staying put and refinancing. They are not selling. This leaves us with few truly comparable sales.

Appraisers as per government mandate Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and most Letters of Engagement (LOE) from Appraisal Management Companies (AMC) must use the following comparables, i.e. sales within last six months, +/- 15% difference in square footage, within one mile radius, similar age, lot size...range. We must include at least three sales and one listing. We must include a Comparative Market Analysis showing all comps we considered. We must include the range of values of all sales and listings within the last year. Our individual line item and gross adjustments can only vary by a small set percentage. We can deviate slightly from these standards only with a ton of explanation. Still, lenders frown upon it.

We also now must include form 1004MC which shows marketing conditions, i.e. absorption rates, inventory, marketing time, sale to list price ratios... All of my 1004MCs are showing very little inventory. I'm in Los Angeles, California by the way. With few properties on the market, you are getting at list if not above list sales with multiple offers. That's all fine and dandy but the property probably will not be able to appraise that high based on the rules we must follow. The resultant appraised value must fall between the range of our best matched comparables. The buyer will have to put a higher down or pay a higher rate because the loan to value ratio is higher. As things improve this will change but for now, that's the way it is.

A last note, quit blaming appraisers for the real estate booms and busts. It's human nature. Real estate is cyclical just like the stock market. I've been through three recessions. The charting is almost identical.


Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.


Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary, Cummins, #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, certified, single family, condo, condominium, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, fha, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, brea insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, 1073, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls, historical appraisal, facebook, linkedin
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