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Digging into our drive to tunnel, bore, and head underground.
Just For Fun!!
Excerpt: The deepest tunnelers among animals, crocodiles that can burrow 39 feet down, cannot compete with us at all. Humans have traveled, in the deepest mine in the world, almost 2.5 miles underground (to say nothing of our boreholes, which go nearly three times deeper). The longest and deepest traffic tunnel in the world, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, makes it possible to cross the Alps in 40 minutes or less. The world’s major cities are criss-crossed by tunnels carrying water, sewage, wires, and people. Montreal has an entire subterranean city for its residents to navigate in the cold winter.
My comment: Fascinating!! I have not appraised any properties with tunnels, but I have seen many (and traveled through some) over the years. Railroad and mass transit trains, abandoned tunnels to nowhere, underground parts of cities (mostly abandoned), old mining tunnels, etc. I have seen (and appraised) lots of basements though, some way below ground ;> |
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How much is Airbnb driving up home prices and rentsExcerpt: The researchers looked at rents and home prices in the 100 largest metro areas in the U.S. between 2012 and 2016. They found that a 10% increase in Airbnb listings leads to a 0.39% increase in rents and a 0.64% increase in house prices.
“That may sound minuscule, but between 2012 and 2016, rents rose by about 2.2% annually [on average in the 100 areas], so a 0.39% increase in that context isn’t very small at all,” says Dr. Edward Kung, an assistant professor of economics at the University of California Los Angeles and one of the study’s authors. The same is true for home prices, which rose by an average of about 4.8% annually in the 100 areas, he adds.
My comment:
Seems like Airbnb rentals are all over, such as my small city, not just in popular vacation spots. From an appraisal point of view, Airbnb rentals are tricky. More cities are regulating them. A lot more hassle than renting out an ADU for a year, for example. Tax issues for owners. To me, seems like it is business value rather than real estate value. Very confusing!!
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Appraiserville from Jonathan Miller’s Housing NotesCheck out the topics below
– The Appraisal Industry Needs Better PR
No one knows what we do.
No one appreciates what we do.
– More on Tristar Bank in TN (you know, the one that shouldn’t be in the mortgage business)
– Loan origination graph 2006 to 2017
– The Next Appraisal Bombshell: Economic Growth Regulatory Reduction and Consumer Protection Act
Scroll down the page to Appraiserville, and maybe make a few stops along the way ;>
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Another Appraisal Waiver Request from Oklahoma bankAnother Appraisal Waiver request has been sent to the ASC. This time from City Bank and Trust in Oklahoma. The bank is claiming a shortage of acceptable appraisers in the area. To read the letter from the bank and appraiser comments plus the letter from many appraisal organizations opposing the Tristar Bank request, go to |
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Subscribe To The Paid Appraisal Today And
Get A Tax Writeoff for 2017!!
A few last minute tax deductions:
– Charitable deductions
– Purchase equipment, software, vehicles, etc.
– Pay business expenses early The new tax law will probably include deductions for pass-through appraisal companies which will probably reduce your income taxes and make deductions less valuable for 2018. |
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Almost 10-Years Later: (Most) Home Prices Return to Boom LevelsExcerpt: Historically low inventory levels, tighter lending standards, significant job and household growth, and a strong housing market backed by economic fundamentals are allegedly keeping the U.S. from another bubble burst.
http://www.themreport.com/daily-dose/11-13-2017/almost-10-years-later-home-prices-return-boom-levels
More stats at:
Info on 10 metro areas that have recovered the least
My comment: One of my brothers lives near Clear Lake, CA, about 30 miles from Santa Rosa, an employment center close to San Francisco. He wants to sell his house but it is still “under water”.
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FHA increases loan limits in nearly every area of U.S. for 2018More than 3,000 counties to see increasesExcerpt: FHA increases loan limits in nearly every area of U.S. for 2018 More than 3,000 counties to see increases… However, in 223 counties, the FHA loan limits will remain the same.
Loan limits info click here
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Housing industry applauds FHA move to stop insuring mortgages with PACE loansExcerpts: Last year, several of the housing industry’s largest trade groups voiced concern over the Obama administration’s decision to allow the Federal Housing Administration to begin insuring mortgages that also carry liens created by the Property Assessed Clean Energy program, also called PACE.
Recently, the Trump administration reversed the Obama administration’s decision on PACE loans and said that FHA will stop insuring mortgages on homes that also carry PACE liens…
Renovate America, which provides PACE loans, suggests that the FHA change may have limited impact on the growing PACE market.
More details here:
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HOW TO USE THE NUMBERS BELOW. Appraisals are ordered after the loan application. These numbers tell you the future for the next few weeks. For more information on how they are compiled, go to www.mbaa.org
Note: I publish a graph of this data every month in my paid monthly newsletter, Appraisal Today. For more information or get a FREE sample issue go to https://www.appraisaltoday.com/products.htm or send an email to info@appraisaltoday.com . Or call 800-839-0227, MTW 7AM to noon, Pacific time.
Last week’s info (not in last week’s newsletter)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 6, 2017) – Mortgage applications increased 4.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 1, 2017. The prior week’s results included an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Mortgage applications decreased 2.3 percent from one week earlierWASHINGTON, D.C. (December 13, 2017) – Mortgage applications decreased 2.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 8, 2017.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 3 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent compared with the previous week and was 10 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 52.4 percent of total applications, its highest level since January 2017, from 51.6 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.6 percent of total applications. The FHA share of total applications increased to 11.8 percent from 11.1 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 10.3 percent from 10.7 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.7 percent from 0.8 percent the week prior. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) increased to 4.20 percent from 4.19 percent, with points decreasing to 0.39 from 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100) decreased to 4.11 percent from 4.16 percent, with points unchanged at 0.28 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to its highest level since April 2017, 4.13 percent, from 4.11 percent, with points decreasing to 0.39 from 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week. The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to its highest level since March 2017, 3.61 percent, from 3.59 percent, with points decreasing to 0.44 from 0.48 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week. The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.42 percent from 3.48 percent, with points increasing to 0.48 from 0.46 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week. The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100. Please Note: |
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