Appraisal Podcasts

Would You Pay a Premium to Lease Green Space?

A recent article on the FacilitiesNet wesbite posed that question. From the article:

Two 15-story buildings stand right next to each other in a prime downtown location of a major city. Both buildings are brand new and have received plenty of inquiries from potential tenants.

Building #1 is a traditionally built, modern facility — it meets code to the letter. Building #2 is similar to Building #1 in terms of amenities. It offers the same types of leased space, but designers have taken a few extra steps to make it a green building — it has a LEED Core and Shell certification, and its developer has offered to assist tenants with their own LEED for Commercial Interiors certification goals. A lease for 40,000 square feet of space at Building #1 costs approximately $35 per square foot, Building #2 costs $36.50 per square foot. Is the cost premium worth it?

For the answer to this and more on Green Buildings, follow this link.

For additional articles point your browser here. 

While perusing the Google Maps Mania blog, I ran across a post noting that shaded releif maps are now available for the Google Earth engine. According to wikipedia:

A raised-relief map or terrain model is a three dimensional representation, usually of terrain. When of terrain the elevation dimension is usually exaggerated by a factor between five and ten; this facilitates the visual recognition of terrain features.

These maps are useful in helping viewers visual recognition of terrain features all over the world. The site can be found at Shaded-Relief.

Pack ‘em in – New Yorkers get a robotic garage - CNN.com

Would you trust a robot to park your car?

The question will confront New Yorkers in February as the city’s first robotic parking opens in Chinatown.
The technology has had a good track record overseas, but the only other public robotic garage in the United States has been troublesome, dropping vehicles and trapping cars because of technical glitches.

Nonetheless, the developers of the Chinatown garage are confident with the technology and are counting on it to squeeze 67 cars in an apartment-building basement that would otherwise fit only 24, accomplished by removing a ramp and maneuver space normally required. (read more)

Google Earth Blog: Navigation Tricks with Google Earth 4

“The navigation gadget in Google Earth 4 packs a lot of functionality in a small space. In fact, there are some undocumented features which you may not have discovered. The nav gadget lets you control your view of GE in a number of ways. Did you know you can pan, zoom, rotate, and tilt with the nav gadget? You can also make the gadget itself appear and disappear with a wave of the mouse. Not only that, but you can reset your zoom, tilt and rotation very simply once you know the tricks.”

For the rest of the story and a complete list of tricks,  click here.

In an effort to target market to its customers, MINI has come up with a unique way to advertise…Billboards with your name on them.

“Each day, it seems, marketers go further in their quest to deliver messages so engaging and personalized that one cannot help feeling special. The latest step will be seen today in four cities when Mini USA begins delivering custom messages to Mini Cooper owners on digital signs the company calls “talking” billboards.

The boards, which usually carry typical advertising, are programmed to identify approaching Mini drivers through a coded signal from a radio chip embedded in their key fob. The messages are personal, based on questionnaires that owners filled out: “Mary, moving at the speed of justice,” if Mary is a lawyer, or “Mike, the special of the day is speed,” if Mike is a chef.”

For more on what is sure to become more widespread, follow this New York Times link.

Has housing market bottomed out?

The final housing numbers for 2006 are in, and they confirm what anyone who bought or sold a home last year has suspected: It was the worst housing slump in nearly two decades. The freshest numbers also provided tea leaves for the more pressing question: has the housing market bottomed out yet — or will prices slide further before the market recovers? (more)

RealEstateJournal | Builders Look for Housing To Recover in 2007
Homebuyers have been backing out of sales contracts and forfeiting their down payments during the housing slowdown, but cancellation rates should steady in the first quarter and taper off later in 2007, said the chief executive of one of the nation’s largest home builders Thursday. (more)

RealEstateJournal | Trade Group Launches Pitch To Boost Home Sales

The National Association of Realtors is launching a $40 million advertising campaign to encourage Americans to buy houses amid the ongoing housing slump. The Realtors’ campaign includes $26 million in television advertising, about double what the group spent in 2006. Television ads will begin running Jan. 15, while new radio ads will begin to air Jan. 29. (more)

RealEstateJournal | What Home Buyers Want in 2007 And Housing Hot Spots

What home buyers want in 2007

Looking to sell your house this year? You may want to check out the list of what home buyers want — and don’t want — in their next home. The list was compiled by real-estate author Mark Nash and published by the Cincinnati Post.

WHAT’S IN: Upscale garages; Man caves; Two home offices; Rejuvenation rooms; Heated patios; Snoring rooms; Modular housing; Sustainable design; Structured wiring; Different finishes; Glass tiles; Drawer-style; Engineered-stone; Exotic and reclaimed; Luggage rooms; Bolder, deeper colors; A second laundry; A wrought-iron fence
WHAT’S OUT: “As is”; Buyer incentives; Endless open houses; Offers over full price; Small bedrooms; Loads of upper cabinet doors; Vessel sinks; Any shiny metal finish; Stainless-steel refrigerators; Spiral staircases; No trim..
Among the features on buyers’ must-have lists are garages with upscale storage systems, heating, air conditioning and flooring; not one, but two home offices; heated outdoor surfaces to melt snow and ice; and second laundry rooms in the master bedroom, the article says. Out of vogue is marketing a property “as is” — it scares away buyers; incentives like free cars — buyers prefer price cuts instead; vessel sinks — too hard to keep clean; and stainless-steel refrigerators that look, well, steely and cold, the article says. (more)

Appraisal Institute CEO, John Ross, Joins Zaio: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Zaio Corporation announced today that John W. Ross of Chicago, Illinois is joining its senior management team. Mr. Ross most recently served as CEO of the Appraisal Institute, a position he held for the past nine years. Founded in 1932, the Appraisal Institute is the largest appraisal organization in the USA, and is known for its “MAI” and “SRA” professional appraisal designations. It is the leading appraisal educator, serving more than 30,000 appraisal students each year, and the world’s leading publisher of books on real estate appraisal. Previously, Mr. Ross served as Executive Vice President of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, the premiere agricultural and rural property appraisal organization, a position he held for 7 years.