Houston Office Market (Real Estate Appraisal)

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The downtown Houston office market is a hot topic these days. Recent months have seen a flurry of activity, whether it be leases, move-outs, or acquisitions. It’s no secret that the downtown market continues to be plagued by average vacancies painfully close to 20% and stagnant rents. With the thought that things will improve in the near future, investors have been purchasing properties in earnest. The fourth quarter news was encouraging, notably EPCO, Inc.’s acquisition of 1100 Louisiana, a building in which they have subsequently occupied 300,000 square feet. Also, Wells Real Estate Funds paid the highest per-square-foot price in the Houston office market’s history ($286 psf) for 5 Houston Center. Rumor has it that ChevronTexaco is interested in purchasing the remaining vacant former Enron building, while other energy companies have begun to reclaim shadow space downtown.

Unfortunately, the Central Business District’s recovery is anything but a slam dunk. Two major tenants, Burlington Resources and Bank One, are expected to vacate CBD space in 2006 after acquisitions by ConocoPhillips and Chase, respectively. In the same building Burlington is expected to vacate, Calpine Corp. reduced the amount of space they lease and subsequently lost naming rights to the former Calpine Center, now known by its address, 717 Texas.

Questions still remain about when the downtown office market will see a substantial improvement. It did not happen with the recent influx of New Orleans office tenants, as some thought it would. However, strong job growth has many experts predicting a healthy 2006 for the Houston office market overall, and with the positive fourth quarter numbers, it appears the market is moving in the right direction.

To view this entire article and more market research updates on apartments, offices, industries and retailers and to learn more about the services O’Connor & Associates offers, please visit {A HREF = http://www.poconnor.com}houstoncommercialproperties

About the Author

Patrick O’Connor, MAI is president of O’Connor & Associates. The firm, in business since 1974, specializes in nationwide real estate appraisals, research, and state and federal tax reduction services. O’Connor is frequently acknowledged by national publications as a respected source of information on real estate trends.

Operating Systems Home Inspection from A to Z – DVD – Real Estate Home Inspector, Homeowner, Home Buyer and Seller Survival Kit Series (Real Estate Appraisal)

Operating Systems Home Inspection from A to Z – DVD – Real Estate Home Inspector, Homeowner, Home Buyer and Seller Survival Kit Series Don’t let your dream house be a nightmare in disguise! Everything you need to know about Real Estate – from Asbestos to Zoning. This 5-star rated DVD has over an hour of video and as an added bonus you also get the 80 page HIB DVD Companion Guide e-Book. This DVD shows the precise steps to follow to inspect all of the OPERATING SYSTEMS of a home.

The OPERATING SYSTEMS DVD topics include: heating systems (gas, oil, steam, hot water, and hot air heating), air-conditioning, water heaters, plumbing, well water system, septic system, electrical system, gas service, and auxiliary systems. Health Concerns topics including: asbestos insulation, radon gas, and water testing.

The INTERIOR and EXTERIOR inspection topics are covered in our other DVD that can be purchased separately. The INTERIOR and EXTERIOR DVD topics include: roof, chimneys, siding, eaves, gutters, drainage and grading, windows, walkways, entrances and porches, driveways, walls and fences, patios and terraces, decks, swimming pools, exterior structures, wood destroying insects, garage, kitchen, bathrooms, floors and stairs, walls and ceilings, windows and doors, fireplaces, attics, ventilation, insulation, basement/lower level, water penetration.

This is definitely the best home inspection DVD series on the market! Created by Guy Cozzi who is a licensed appraiser, home inspector, consultant, and real estate investor. This top selling author has been quoted as a real estate expert by the New York Times and many other publications. He has been a guest speaker on real estate investment TV shows for years. Guy Cozzi has taught thousands of people how to inspect, appraise and invest in real estate and provides advice to many banks and mortgage lenders.
Customer Review: Excellent DVD! We use this to train our home inspectors.
I own a very successful home inspection business in California. We use all of this authors products to train my staff since they are the by far the best products for real estate training on the market. We originally found out about these products through excellent book reviews in the local real estate publications. From that we learned the following details and decided to purchase the whole “Real Estate From A to Z” series by this author:

Nemmar Real Estate Training is ranked as the most exclusive real estate appraiser training, home inspector training, and real estate investor consulting service since 1988. Our real estate books, DVDs, CDs and Videos are rated number one in their real estate categories nationwide! Our products have taught thousands of home buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals worldwide. You too can learn everything you need to know about Real Estate – from Asbestos to Zoning. With this knowledge you will save thousands of dollars when you buy, sell, or renovate your home. You will also learn how to eliminate safety hazards and properly maintain a home. Statistics show an average savings of at least $4,700.00 per home for customers who have our books and DVD videos. Our real estate investment, home inspection, appraisal, and home improvement books have been called the “Bible” of the real estate industry. Written by Guy Cozzi, who has decades of experience as a licensed appraiser, home inspector, consultant, and real estate investor. This top selling author has been quoted as a real estate expert by the New York Times and many other publications. He has been a guest speaker on real estate investment TV shows and has taught thousands of people how to conduct home inspections, real estate appraisals, and how to invest in real estate. He also provides real estate advice to many banks and mortgage lenders.

State real estate official charged with malpractice (Real Estate Appraisal)

State real estate official charged with malpractice
WHNS - Aug 12, 2006A complaint by the Real Estate Appraisers Board says Christopher Cochran of Spartanburg and his firm Two Day Appraisal overvalued land near Lake Keowee in …

County’s appraisal won’t cover relocation costs
Kansas.com, KS - Aug 26, 2006… The appraisal is particularly galling in light of the anti-social behavior around … Lyon has checked out numerous buildings with a real estate agent and can’t …

History in a Box
Press-Enterprise (subscription), CA - Aug 27, 2006… An example is the original appraisal report that was used for the 1964 … for $450 million to a partnership of Bedford Properties and Kemper Real Estate Management …

Real Estate Appraisal – Real Estate Appraisal – Do Your Own

For single family homes, there are two basic methods used in real estate appraisal. They are replacement cost analysis, and using comparable sales. A third appraisal method, based on capitalization, is used for income properties, and is covered in another article.

In figuring replacement cost the question is: What would it cost to buy this land and put this house on it? If the land (improved) would cost $40,000, and the house could be built for $150,000, the value indicated would be around $190,000 – if the house is fairly new. If it has used up 10% of its useful life, you can deduct $15,000 for depreciation.

Replacement cost is not really a very useful measurement. It is difficult to say what the land is worth in a city center where none is left for sale, for example, and tough to gauge depreciation. It is used as a secondary method, and for unique homes that can’t be compared easily with others. The primary method of real estate appraisal used for homes is a market analysis using comparable sales.

Real Estate Appraisal 101

To get a good idea of what a home should sell for, you need to compare it to homes that have sold. Find at least three similar homes in the same area that have sold within the last year, preferably within the last six months. This information is available in the county records, or from a real estate agent with access to the MLS (multiple listing service).

Now the confusing part. You start with the selling price of each of your comparables. If your subject home has a second bathroom, and the a comparable doesn’t, you add the value of the bathroom to the sales price of the comparable. If a comparable home has a blacktop driveway, and the subject home doesn’t, you take the value away.

You are rectifying differences, to see what comparable homes would have sold for if they were like yours. So if a comparable sold for $140,000, and a bathroom is worth $15,000 in your area (ask a real estate agent for help with these figures), you ADD $15,000 for the bathroom it doesn’t have. Then you subtract, say $4,000, for the paved driveway it does have. This gives you a comparable sales price of $151,000.

You do this with all differences between the subject home and each comparable. When done, you average the three comparable prices. So if the three comparables have adjusted sales prices of $151,000, 162,000, and 149,000, you add the three figures and divide by three. The indicated value of the home is $154,000.

Of course all appraisal is an inexact science. If you can only find comparables sold over a year ago, you have to estimate appreciation in the area. If one sold with seller financing, you have to decide how this affected the price. For all of it’s flaws, however, for single family homes, this is the most accurate method of real estate appraisal.

About the author:
Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com