Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants » IRS

Over the past few days I've been sent this blog post by a number of real estate appraisers who are upset with its derogatory reference to our profession. It was written by Dean Graziosi in the Hu...

https://millersamuel.com/multi-millionaire-motivational-speaker-dean-graziosi-shares-his-appraisal-wisdom/

After all the housing news drama of the past month, I thought it was interesting to see the negative streak broken. Still, sales are below year ago levels after what I described as a "release of...

https://millersamuel.com/nar-pending-home-sales-had-biggest-february-to-march-jump-in-4-years/

Back in mid 1980's the front door of a new condo conversion at One Tompkins Square Park was spray painted with words "Die Yuppie Scum" and it became the battle cry for protests against gentrifica...

https://millersamuel.com/is-gentrification-a-four-letter-word/

It’s time to share my Three Cents Worth (3CW) on Curbed NY, at the intersection of neighborhood and real estate in the capital of the world...and I'm here to take measurements. Check out my 3CW...

https://millersamuel.com/three-cents-worth-260-ny-looking-at-manhattans-mortgage-history/

We recently released the market reports we prepare for Douglas Elliman covering the The Hamptons and North Fork. This is part of an evolving market report series I've been writing for Douglas El...

https://millersamuel.com/no-fiscal-cliff-hangover-1q-2013-hamptons-north-fork-reports/

We published our report on the Long Island sales market for 1Q 2013. This is part of an evolving market report series I've been writing for Douglas Elliman since 1994. Key Points 1Q 2013 - Lowest...

https://millersamuel.com/defined-by-low-supply-1q-2013-long-island-sales-report/

We published our report on Manhattan market sales for 1Q 2013 today.   I've been writing this series for Douglas Elliman since 1994. My Take -Inventory remained near historic lows, seeing the la...

https://millersamuel.com/inventory-collapse-1q-2013-manhattan-sales-report/

We published our report on the Long Island sales market for 4Q 2012 . Since this was the final quarter of 2012, we also released our Long Island Decade report , a ten year moving window data...

https://millersamuel.com/turning-corner-4q-2012-2003-2012-long-island-decade-reports/

A good friend of mine, Mark Stockton of Valuations Unlimited, LLC, has developed a powerful research tool to aid in valuation. Mark is a sharp unassuming guy who has sold technology to Wall Stree...

https://millersamuel.com/defensibility-of-property-values-part-ii-of-trilogy/

Residential Real Estate Appraisal, Research, Insights, Data and Other Resources

https://millersamuel.com/fhfa-u-s-monthly-house-price-index-up-0-8-m-o-m-down-12-8-from-peak/

NAR released its May existing home sales report today. This was one of the most bizarre existing home sale reports I can recall. First of all, the expectation of a drop in sales activity was wid...

https://millersamuel.com/nar-existing-home-sales-decline-2-2-but-a-northeaster-weighed-down-the-results/

CoreLogic (Formerly First American) released their Home Price Index Report for April 2010 >“The monthly increase in the HPI shows the lingering effects of the homebuyer tax credit,” said Mar...

https://millersamuel.com/corelogic-home-price-index-2-6-yoy-and-0-8-mom-increase/

At first glance, the headline on coverage of the annual State of the Nation’s Housing report issued today by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies: U.S. Housing Recovery Dependent on Jo...

https://millersamuel.com/harvard-study-jobs-needed-for-housing-to-recover/

Last January I moderated a distressed property panel at the Inman Real Estate conference in New York.  One of the panelists was Travis Waller, a sharp real estate agent from New Jersey who spoke...

https://millersamuel.com/the-housing-helix-podcast-travis-waller-cdpe-crs-remax-distressed-property-realtor/

Last January I moderated a distressed property panel at the Inman Real Estate conference in New York.  One of the panelists was Travis Waller, a sharp real estate agent from New Jersey who spoke...

https://millersamuel.com/interview-travis-waller-cdpe-crs-remax-distressed-property-realtor/

I'm making up for lost time, not having taken art classes in school... In the New York City metro area, prices were generally stable - the story this spring was really all about transactions. In ...

https://millersamuel.com/spring-market-in-like-a-lion-out-like-a-lamb/

NAR released its PHSI today and there were no surprises. The expiration of the federal tax credit for first time buyers and existing home owners (signed contract by April 30, close by June 30) s...

https://millersamuel.com/nar-pending-home-sales-index/

Last month NAR told us that this month would see another period of robust sales activity as buyers sought to beat the expiration of the first time buyers and existing hoimewoners tax credit on A...

https://millersamuel.com/nar-existing-home-sales-jump-artificially/

I have been coming across what I believe to be somewhat weird rear view looks at the credit/housing bubble we just went through from some well respected voices. I'm thinking there is perhaps an a...

https://millersamuel.com/bubbletheory-lets-not-re-write-history/

Last week S&P made the decision to de-emphasize seasonal adjustments given the chaos of the past several years. A good move towards better transparency. The S&P/Case Shiller Index showed: * 0.6%...

https://millersamuel.com/spcase-shiller-february-2010-feels-like-2003/

The Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service, Inc. provides a quarterly analysis of the Westchester County real estate market, a suburb of New York City. Although we perform appraisals in West...

https://millersamuel.com/wpar-1q-2010-westchester-county-ny-tax-credit-driving-sales/

The 1Q 2010 Manhattan Market Overview , part of a report series that we have authored for Prudential Douglas Elliman since 1994, was released today. We had problems with our web site host all mor...

https://millersamuel.com/more-of-the-same-1q-2010-manhattan-market-overview-available-for-download/

I did a short interview on Bloomberg yesterday regarding their coverage of Knight Frank's 2010 Wealth Report The Bloomberg coverage was in reference to my contribution to the report via intervie...

https://millersamuel.com/in-the-media-bloomberg-news-3-23-2010/

Trulia released its Price Reduction Report for March 2010 and press release The report suggests that sellers are being more realistic when pricing their homes. Over the past year, the rate of pr...

https://millersamuel.com/trulia-price-reduction-report-march-2010/

Trulia released its Price Reduction Report for February 2010 and press release After several years of significant price reductions, the amount of the deductions have been showing a decline. Howe...

https://millersamuel.com/trulia-price-reduction-report-february-2010/

Since appraisal management companies are now responsible for the super majority of appraisals being ordered through lenders for mortgage purposes due to HVCC and AMCs are not a regulate instituti...

https://millersamuel.com/surety-bonds-some-states-are-cracking-down-on-appraisal-management-companies/

The 4Q 2009 Long Island Market Overview that I author for Prudential Douglas Elliman was released today. Other reports we prepare can be found here. Charts with the 4Q 2009 will be available onl...

https://millersamuel.com/a-better-finish-4q-2009-long-island-market-overview-available-for-download/

Last month home sales spiked as first time home buyers rushed to take advantage of the tax credit before the November 30 expiration and no one was sure that the credit would be extended. As a re...

https://millersamuel.com/nar-existing-home-sales-plunge-as-expected/

NAR released their November 2009 Pending Home Sales Index which ended a 9 month string of increases. >The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in Novem...

https://millersamuel.com/pending-home-sales-tax-credit-wild-card-m-o-m-down-16-y-o-y-up-15-5/

The 4Q 2009 Manhattan Market Overview , part of a report series that we have authored for Prudential Douglas Elliman since 1994, was released today. Other reports we prepare can be found here. Th...

https://millersamuel.com/sideways-4q-2009-manhattan-market-overview-available-for-download/

One of the by-products of the credit crunch has been the rise in shadow inventory. Within my own market stats, I consider shadow inventory all units that are complete or under construction but n...

https://millersamuel.com/not-really-counted-1-7m-units-in-shadow-housing-inventory/

Trulia, the listing search site, recently developed a Monthly Price Reduction report on the US housing market. Its intriguing because Trulia is able to aggregate this from a data set of millions ...

https://millersamuel.com/trulia-price-reduction-report-december-2009/

The National Association of Realtors released their October 2009 Existing Home Sale Report and the news was positive and kind of weird. >Driven by the first-time buyer tax credit, existing-home s...

https://millersamuel.com/tax-credit-existing-home-sales-up-10-1-m-o-m-23-5-y-o-y/

The National Association of Realtors released its pending home sale index results from September and the results were good as expected: >The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking* indicator...

https://millersamuel.com/seasonalized-annualized-pending-home-sales-index-up-8th-consecutive-month/

The August 2009 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report showed continued month over month improvement while the decline from the prior year same period continues to ease. Reporting on this rep...

https://millersamuel.com/spcase-shiller-home-price-indices-august-2009-up-12-m-o-m-may-go-negative-in-september/

Not surprisingly, existing home sales jumped this month. Here's NAR's existing home sales release and the data. > including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 9.4 perce...

https://millersamuel.com/nar-existing-home-sales-surge-94-45-are-first-time-buyers/

As a testament to the overcorrection in mortgage underwriting mentality, Kenneth Harney in his The Nation's Housing column writes about the IRS Form 4506-T that >authorizes a loan officer or mort...

https://millersamuel.com/checking-it-twice-irs-form-4506-t-for-good-reason/

Council on Foreign Relations has a very interesting chart on who financed the massive amounts of debt that the U.S. government issued in the first half of 2009.- it is divided by "official buyers...

https://millersamuel.com/weening-off-quantitative-easing-but-who-buys-gse-debt/

The 3Q 2009 Manhattan Market Overview , part of a report series that we have authored for Prudential Douglas Elliman since 1994, was released today. Other reports we prepare can be found here. Th...

https://millersamuel.com/turning-the-corner-3q-2009-manhattan-market-overview-available-for-download/

Here's the summary: >The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home-price index, a closely watched gauge of U.S. home prices, rose 1.6% in July from June in the third straight monthly increase, but prices re...

https://millersamuel.com/case-shiller-20-city-index-july-2009-down-133-y-o-y-up-12-m-o-m/

FHFA released its July 2009 monthly housing price index report today which showed more of the same - month over month price increases (up 0.3% from June) and year over year decreases (down 4.2%)....

https://millersamuel.com/fhfa-july-2009-monthly-house-price-index/

In a WSJ piece called No Easy Exit for Government as Housing Market's Savior ...the article notes that >After a year of extraordinary interventions in the economy, the federal government is start...

https://millersamuel.com/the-housing-market-is-workingfor-the-government/

Here is my latest handiwork for the Huffington Post. Current Wave of Housing Euphoria May Extend Downturn The article is below in full if you don't want to click on the link: Current Wave of Hous...

https://millersamuel.com/huffpost-current-wave-of-housing-euphoria-may-extend-downturn/

The Federal Reserve just released the Beige Book which provides anecdotal commentary on the economy nationally and across the regions of its member banks. Here's real estate and mortgage excerpts...

https://millersamuel.com/beige-book-less-bad-begun-to-stabilize-moderated/

The Irish economy has ground to a halt, yet: >A new appraisal more than doubles the value of U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd's Irish cottage, a vacation home that is the subject of an ethics complaint...

https://millersamuel.com/appraiser-senator-dodds-cottage-cold-windy-and-draughty/

One of my favorite visuals when I visit San Francisco are the trolleys and street cars. When I rode a street car for the first time a few years ago, I didn't realize that they were largely retire...

https://millersamuel.com/new-urbanism-watch-a-streetcar-named-de-leverage/

Ok, so I'm not a Buffalo Bills fan (go Jets!) and I didn't vote for Jack Kemp when he ran for president in '88, but I did admire him, especially his stint as Secretary of Housing and Urban Develo...

https://millersamuel.com/good-memories-of-kemp-cram-down-fall-down/

Sorry but I am in Manhattan Market Overview high gear prep mode - the report will be published later this week - so I am pretty lame on the content side for Matrix at the moment. One of my semi-r...

https://millersamuel.com/the-black-swan-and-really-really-dumb-smart-people/

Who says the Dow Jones Industrial Average has anything to do with the outlook for the housing market? I am certainly skeptical, and get downright annoyed every time someone would refer to the DJI...

https://millersamuel.com/planting-a-garden-djia-surge-better-mood-more-home-sales/

Last week, Dan Gross at Newsweek wrote a fun piece on Slate/Newsweek called "Jump" (not a a correlation with the old Van Halen song). Basically he says that nothing the government can do will fix...

https://millersamuel.com/risk-as-a-bonus-us-treasury-makes-another-attempt-to-fix-economy-housing/

I really enjoy Bob Schieffer's Face the Nation program and listen to the podcast on a regular basis. I was particularly interested in the discussion this past week with senators Mitch McConnell a...

https://millersamuel.com/facing-the-nation-washington-doesnt-really-get-it-hint-its-not-housing/

Jim MacCrate, MAI, CRE, ASA has his own firm, MacCrate Associates, but has worn many hats as a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City and Chief Appraiser at European American Bank. H...

https://millersamuel.com/straight-from-maccrate-ellwood-a-beautiful-mathematical-formula-but-often-misused/

Last week the New York State Comptroller announced that Wall Street bonuses fell 44% to $18.4B and the securities industry losses may exceed $35B >Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which infu...

https://millersamuel.com/the-6th-highest-wall-street-bonus-payout-in-history-girlfriend/

On November 19, 2008, to little fan fare, a joint agency request for comments on proposed Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines was made. Comments are due by January 20, 2009...

https://millersamuel.com/sounding-bored-interview-with-jim-maccrate/

Not much wiggle room left for the Fed, but always time for New Wave "turning Japanese" nostalgia. I keep thinking about the 0% discount rate set by the Bank of Japan since the mid-1990s and how t...

https://millersamuel.com/below-1-turning-japanese-i-really-think-so/

Earlier this month the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) became a done deal and the U.S. Treasury has since been diligently crafting a global strategy to implement the greatest government bai...

https://millersamuel.com/the-navigator-strategic-planning-can-get-appraisers-under-the-tarp/

I had MSNBC and CNBC on as white noise for much of the day and was somewhat surprised that the markets saw such a sharp drop on the news that the bailout was rejected by the House. I suspected it...

https://millersamuel.com/think-fear-and-anger-beats-out-greed-for-the-hearts-and-minds-of-americans/

There has been a lot of debate on whether the repeal of Glass-Steagall on November 13, 1999 via the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act was the beginning of the end of the sep...

https://millersamuel.com/banking-on-recovery-did-the-glass-steagall-repeal-cause-our-insecuritization/

Jim MacCrate, MAI, CRE, ASA has his own firm, MacCrate Associates, but has worn many hats as a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City and Chief Appraiser at European American Bank. H...

https://millersamuel.com/straight-from-maccrate-what-has-happened-to-manhattan-apartment-property-values/

Thursday I was on with Kathleen Hays at Bloomberg News, one of the best business anchors on television, to talk about housing starts. I was joined by Beth Pierce, of the California Association of...

https://millersamuel.com/in-the-media-bloomberg-tv-on-the-economy-housing-starts-and-fits/

The Federal Reserve finished crafting their subprime mortgage rules regarding Truth in Lending called Regulation Z. I am doubtful that this rule would have been updated if we weren't experiencing...

https://millersamuel.com/subprime-truth-in-lending-from-a-to-regulation-z/

Todd Huttunen began appraising more than 20 years ago with a few years off in between to pursue a career in cabinet making. He relegated that to hobby status and is currently an appraiser in an a...

https://millersamuel.com/the-hall-monitor-bigger-is-not-always-better/

When a lender is issuing mortgages to be competitive with their fellow banks, common sense can take a holiday. Over the past several years the proliferation of no doc or "liar loans" showed that ...

https://millersamuel.com/blind-eye-turned-not-caring-about-the-borrowers-income-could-be-criminal/

Jim MacCrate, MAI, CRE, ASA has his own firm, MacCrate Associates, but has worn many hats as a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City and Chief Appraiser at European American Bank. H...

https://millersamuel.com/straight-from-maccrate-real-property-taxation-is-it-fair/

I like to read Bill Gross' column every month (and podcast) and have mentioned it here on more than one occasion. He is a smart man and the zen-god of the bond market via his firm PIMCO. He is no...

https://millersamuel.com/when-im-64-how-about-now/

About a year and a half ago I posted about the housing blame game in my post, oddly enough called: The Housing Blame Game >As the falling housing market shakes financial institutions and pummels...

https://millersamuel.com/housing-blame-game-better-than-pac-man/

Well, the Matrix Zeppelin needed repairs, but the turmoil in the credit markets made it difficult to get a loan to make the repairs. But with the stimulus plan rebate check on its way, I decided ...

https://millersamuel.com/matrix-zeppelin-a-hefty-profit-take-your-family-out-to-dinner-prolonging-rather-deal-with-higher-interest-rates-greed-and-dishonesty-cliches-they-are-the-worst-fix-value-staight-out-liar/

When I came across this download mp3information by the FDIC, it brought to mind something I thought of while reading the review of Steve Martin's new book "Born Standing Up" I saw in Time Out New...

https://millersamuel.com/fdic-as-tipster-negotiating-a-good-mortgage/

As I was charged $1.50 today for using another bank's ATM, I thought... A lot has been made about the impact of the weaker housing market on consumer spending: >The question, though, is just how ...

https://millersamuel.com/government-needs-the-housing-atm-too/

Whatever your political persuasion, the housing industry is moving through politics like a freight train these days. And why not? Housing is a key source of employment, wealth, taxes, consumer sp...

https://millersamuel.com/housing-market-depreciates-the-politics-of-future-expectations/

Todd Huttunen began appraising more than 20 years ago with a few years off in between to pursue a career in cabinet making. He relegated that to hobby status and is currently an appraiser in an a...

https://millersamuel.com/the-hall-monitor-school-taxes-are-up-but-not-as-much-as-houses/

Todd Huttunen began appraising more than 20 years ago with a few years off in between to pursue a career in cabinet making. He relegated that to hobby status and is currently an appraiser in an a...

https://millersamuel.com/the-hall-monitor-new-york-state-real-property-tax-law-is-kafkaesque-or-is-it-the-other-way-around/

Its been a long time coming. There is now a movement at the federal government level to create oversight of the mortgage broker industry. >US Representative Barney Frank introduced legislation ye...

https://millersamuel.com/mortgage-brokers-oversight-from-hindsight-in-plain-sight/

Jim MacCrate, MAI, CRE, ASA, has worn many hats in his career. He taught a number of the appraisal classes I have taken through the Appraisal Institute and I think he is one of the few people who...

https://millersamuel.com/straight-from-maccrate-international-fair-value-accounting-and-reporting/

Jim MacCrate, MAI, CRE, ASA, has worn many hats in his career. He taught a number of the appraisal classes I have taken through the Appraisal Institute and I think he is one of the few people who...

https://millersamuel.com/straight-from-maccrate-wall-streets-valuation-methodology-is-it-correct/

Commercial Grade is a weekly post by John Cicero, MAI who provides commentary on issues affecting real estate appraisers, with specific focus on commercial valuation. In this post, John piles mor...

https://millersamuel.com/commercial-grade-a-few-more-words-about-appraisal-pressure/

Well, Real Deal magazine sold out their "Science of Real Estate" New Development Forum at Lincoln Center last week. It was an event! Over 3,000 tickets were sold. Some thoughts... * It was the fi...

https://millersamuel.com/real-deal-totals-lincoln-center/

(http://www.wcbr.net/) provides a quarterly analysis of the real estate market. Considered a suburb of New York City, (http://www.westchestertowns.com/htm/index.html) along with Fairfield County,...

https://millersamuel.com/4q-06-westchester-county-ny-from-sing-sing-to-chappaqua/

The billboards and (https://www.learningannex.com/realestate/realestate.taf?coursenum=NY07EX&refer=), while distasteful to many (self-included - wondering how people that attend these seminars ca...

https://millersamuel.com/real-estate-get-rich-euphoria-may-be-distasteful-but-not-the-root-of-all-evil/

_Todd Huttunen began appraising more than 20 years ago with a few years off in between to pursue a career in cabinet making. He relegated that to hobby status and is currently an appraiser in an ...

https://millersamuel.com/the-hall-monitor-tax-rebates-that-really-arent/