If your timing was great, your median home purchased in 2012 for $199,000 has increased $311,000 to $510,000 today! I wrote about compositional effects recently ..read more

What has been your experience with animals while inspecting? Any harrowing stories to share? Or have you been lucky like me and not yet bitten ..read more

Brownie points to anyone who was not on the Yolo County Association of Realtors call last week who can tell where this is: , the MLS for my region and part of the . I’m very fortunate to have such great data partners. Great time to sell, terrible time to buy ..read more

Appraisal volume ties directly to interest rates. When rates fall, mortgage financing rises and drives appraisal volume up. When rates rise, appraisal volume falls. However, as shown above, the number of appraisers in the US who work with lenders has been relatively stable over the past eight years. The interest rate cycle rises and falls much more rapidly than the time it takes to develop a productive appraiser, causing appraiser shortages in times like now ..read more

Like many appraisers, the past two years have been crazy for me. Life is starting to slow down so I hope to post more frequently. Go here to grab the data plus some other cool stuff from the Feds ..read more

I spent much of last year in presentations sharing photos of my favorite mountains since the local markets had clearly peaked. Here’s hoping I can share valley photos in 2023 ..read more

I hope to write more this year. If you have something you would like me to discuss here, please leave a message or email me. Each home requires its own analysis to determine trends and value ..read more

Mr. Ratterman lives in the Indianapolis area with his wife of 36 years, Jeanine. They have four grandchildren who all live in their area. His contact information is listed on the Appraisal Institute website ( (I am not getting paid for any sales) ) and can be located by clicking on “Find an Appraiser ..read more

Thanks for reading. Please leave any comments or questions ..read more