Appraising Mid Mod Homes
Home appraisers have been busy the last few years. As the market has been full of activity, the vast majority of these properties are financed and require an appraisal. If you’re appraising one of the other 183,000 households in the greater Sacramento area, you’ve usually got a good pool of comps to choose from. But what if you’re appraising something as special as a Mid Century Modern home?
Mid Mod homes only account for nearly 2% of all households in the area.
In a perfect world an appraiser has at least three similar properties, sold within a six month period, and within a half mile radius. This is usually not an issue for the higher population of tract-home style neighborhoods around the region. It’s rare to have any shortage of comps to choose from.
If you’re lucky enough to be involved in a Mid Century Modern transaction, you may find there is a shortage of comps to help you determine pricing.
Fear not. A Mid Mod real estate specialist, like your’s truly, will be your best asset when it comes to determining pricing, value, and any appraisal issues. We like to think of a real estate transaction like a cross country flight—where we are the pilots, and there will likely be some sort of turbulence along the way. Appraisals can certainly shake up the ride!
During one of our recent transactions we had a bank appraiser reach out to us highly concerned about our listing’s value and what the buyer’s had offered.
Sometimes, as Realtor's, we wear several hats. Luckily for everyone in this case we are the Mid Mod experts and can easily produce hard data with real numbers as to why this property held the value that we were so confident of. The appraiser, a self identified expert with decades of experience (and she lived in the area), needed us to show her what info we were using to come up with a valuation.
Fortunately for our clients, we are full time Realtors.
There’s no part timers here. We do’t have a side gig. All we do is live and breathe real estate. We already had the answers for the appraiser. Whether it’s networking with other agents from the area, understanding pricing and market trends, or being able to understand the nuances of what brings Mid Mod homes values to top dollar—this is our bread and butter.
There ended up being no issues, and the appraiser was thrilled at our comprehensive approach and wealth of data she could use to complete her report with. The sellers were able to sell for top dollar, and the buyers paid market value for a property—even during one of the hottest markets where, on average, homes are now selling for 104% what they are listed for.
It makes the most sense to consult with a Mid Century Modern specialist Realtor.
You wouldn’t take your Lamborghini to any old repair shop, and you certainly wouldn’t trust your dental work with a plumber. So why is it that so many sellers don’t pick agent’s who specialize in Mid Mod real estate? The owners who don’t choose specialists typically price their listings incorrectly (both over and under priced), miss out on key marketing opportunities , and don’t have the best agent’s advocating for their best interests. Buyers make the same mistake too. If you’re looking to buy something as unique and hard to find as a Mid Mod, using a specialist will save you a ton of time and heartache. Targeting MCM neighborhoods, networking with other MCM agents, and having buyer specialty MCM marketing in place are just a few ways we differentiate ourselves from the majority of generalists working in the industry.
Take some time to interview your next agent.
Buyers will benefit from neighborhood expertise and insider info only gathered from neighborhood specialization and agent to agent networking. Sellers will be sure to capture the most market activity and position themselves to get the best price on their properties. We’re happy to go head to head with anyone in the area. We are an open book on our track record, selling and buying processes, and what our past clients are happily saying about their 5-star experience working with us!
