Greetings William:

Unfortunately -- this is what the market is like right now. GREAT time to buy---not a good time to sell.

Home values are decreasing weekly. It will take years before the market really turns around-- hence, I would hold onto your house. If you want to purchase another home-- I would rent out your current house (not sell).

Wait for the market to turn around-- in the years to come.

For Free Weekly Home Lists-- on your Home Value/ or Home Purchasing:-- Register for Free at FindingTheHome.com. We represent Buyers at no cost to you.

All the best, Kathryn

William,

The straight answer is Yes, it could be. But I do agree with the other answers that it all comes down to the reason for the appraisal, and what Comps were used. We run into this problem a lot with Buyers right now who purchase lender owned homes. The house might be worth a lot more than what it comes in at on the Appraisal to purchase, mostly on Bank and REO property's because the use all the short sale and foreclosures used as comps and it kills the value. It is a good thing for a Buyer (its hard to tell them that) if it is the Buyer purchasing a Bank or REO home because the bank will 99% of the time need to lower the price to sell the house. If you look at REAL comps, the closer to your current situation you can make a good decision on your own as to what your home may be worth. If you were trying to re-finance there is a good chance your lender does not want you to pull out money and therefore gives bad comps so you don't put yourself into a negative equity position. What a concept, a bank looking out for there investment. You need to understand a large reason for the market being the way it is now is because a few years ago everyone was pulling cash out of there homes within a year of purchase and banks were happy to give out the money. Did these homes all appreciate 40% in the course of a year? No way! but that is why when it came time to sell the homes could not get what was owed on them and here we are. I hope this helps!

Mark

William, a few questions -What was the reason for the appraisal/s? Was the first one (or both for a refinance etc.) Also, have other homes (similar) sold recently in your neighborhood? Where there foreclosures, short sales? It has been common to go back 6 months to look at comparable sales when doing an appraisal, however many appraiser now will use only 3 months of sold data (if there is enough solds) - which even more would put it to the midst of the slower/lower winter season. You can find neighborhood specific market reports for Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Littleton etc. at http://DenverRealEstateSoup.com . If your neighborhood is not listed, let us know we can add it to the mix.

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.
Brian 303-710-2609 Direct
Kenna and Co., Broker

William, appraisals are not worth much more than the paper they are written on. If you had two more appraisers come out tomorrow, they would come up with different numbers and could differ by by the $30k you experienced here.

The purpose of the appraisal will absolutely affect the amount the home is appraised for. It's unfortunate, but true. The best gauge at what the "Market Value" of the home may be would be talking with an experienced agent.

Feel free to contact me if you would like a more in depth explanation. Good Luck!

Bob 303.770.1180

Who did the appraisal each time? For what purpose?

Appraisal takes info. on "like homes" sold in past 6 months. Value of home can change, with winter slow months home prices are usually lower than during busy time of year (April - July)

QUESTION: How did you obtain your appraisal is it like homes sq ft and many other factors are involved in comping a property. Info. supplied correct?

Hi William,

We do an indepth local area market analysis once a month. This will help you see the current trends in the market. The market in that price range is starting to pick up. Check out http://www.abcrealtygroup.com and go under the current market data button on the home page. This is will give you the full report. Right now I can tell you the inventory is holding lower levels and the real estate buyers are being more confident by placing 5000+ homes under contract as of this writing. With the government aiding in both interest rate deductions and tax credits for buyers the upcoming 2009 year will be the time people will look back and say, "I should have bought something in 2009". These windows only occurred in 1977, 1988, 1994 and now 2009.

Best of luck,
Cara George
Prestige Real Estate Group

Hi William,
Welcome to what may be the worst 6 months of comparable sales we will see for quite some time. Banks will usually accept comparable sales for the previous 6 months. Your appraisal in October could have included sales all the way back to May of 2008. The appraisal you just had done could only include sales from fall and winter, typically the worst number of sales and lowest prices. Hold your head up, because things really seem to be turning around in the Front Range.
Darrell

Were these professiona appraisals? Done by a liceensed appraiser?

The appraiser's numbers are based on the best information they have at the time of the appraisal. It is entirely possible that between the appraisal dates new comparisons became available because of completed transactions.

In a market that is adjusting downward, it is likely to be correct.

Yes, Yes and Yes!! This is happening all over and in many states.