How Much More is a Home on the Park in Land Park Worth?

I was reading Jim Braun's post this morning about helping out appraisers. He's talking about all those phone calls we as real estate agents get from appraisers asking us about value in certain neighborhoods. As a Land Park agent, I can get my fair share of inquiries from appraisers, especially in Land Park. It's where I live and work.

Some agents don't want to take the time to speak with an appraiser. Their attitude seems to be: What's in it for me? How am I going to make money from this call? I'm not, so I'm not talking to you. And that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. OK, maybe it's not the dumbest thing I ever heard, but it ranks right up there with thinking you can buy a Land Park foreclosure for 50 cents on the dollar.

I view the chance to speak with an appraiser as a glorious opportunity. It lets me educate the appraiser. Since HVCC and its recent revisions, you never know who you'll get for an appraiser, and appraisers don't work in every neighborhood every day. But as real estate agents, we do. Year in and year out. We have intimate knowledge to share with an appraiser, which could very well affect our next transaction and the one after that.

This appraiser wanted to know if he could add $50,000 as an additional value for a home facing William Land Park. It's not as simple as that. I know that appraisers are used to adding in another $10,000 for a pool, for example, which five years ago would have yielded another $40,000 and is not gonna happen today. However, the adage location, location, location still rings true. Being on the park is a great place for home in Land Park.

But there are buyers who don't want the traffic and noise. See, the beauty about homes in Land Park is most of them tend to embody the true meaning of market value. The true meaning of market value is when the amount a buyer is willing to pay and the amount a seller is willing to accept, match. In other words, if a buyer is willing to pay a seller's asking price, it will ordinarily appraise at that amount. There are always exceptions, but typically those situations involve agents who can't sell the appraiser on the price or you've got a really inept appraiser.

All kinds of other things come into play such as how far back from the street does the home sit? What kind of updates were made? How big is the lot? What is the layout like? Who was the architect? Who lives next door? How much curb appeal does it have? Where is the master situated? What is the square footage? How large is the garage? When was the pool installed? Where is the library? I could go on and on. And there's always the intangible how does it make you feel?

If you're looking to buy a home in Land Park, the truth is you could pay too much. That's where some of the short sales come from, you know. It's not because prices fell, it's because the buyers paid too much.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, home at 1999 13th Avenue in Land Park, Sacramento.

Disclosure: This is not my home, not my listing and I did not sell this home when it last sold in 2007 at $1,575,000. But if you're looking for a Land Park agent, please call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759 or email Elizabeth Weintraub.