How much do appraisals resemble reality?

if it's a sale, they see if they can come in at sale price.

if it's a refi, they just make sure that the refi happens and pull any old comps.

i wouldnt say Manhattan real estate is "flat to slightly down" since late 2010. Rather, I would say the market has continued reflating aprox 4%-7% or so depending on price point over the last 2 years or so. SE index shows the market up aprox 4.3% or so during that period as well. Id prefer to use a bit of a wider range though. I dont think 10% is so out of whack considering mkt trends + improvements u did.

Any recent same line sales since u bought in 2010?

Look through any Appraisal very carefully . . .
Errors can include: wrong comps, wrong/mis balanced allowances between comps, outright incorrect information, outdated/out of area information, and more . . .

The kicker is should you spot any of this, the Mortgage Lender involved will only deal with your protest via a lengthy process where you either basically get to do the Appraisers job for them--only better, and essentially for free, to prove your case; or hire another Appraiser to do the correct job that should have been done in the first place!!

Simply hiring another Appraiser is yet another NYC Real Estate crapshoot!
Costs vary widely, supposedly correlating to the level of service, but it just seemed pretty random according to what they could get away with!
[I particularly enjoyed talking with one Appraiser who was too busy to handle my concerns . . . but could squeeze me into schedule, should I be willing to pay 1250$ for his Professional Services! Interesting, also, that they want to know WHY you are getting Appraisal . . . different numbers jiggered different ways for different reasons!!]

Give yourself time to make changes to get the Appraisal results you need!
Thats my recent experience!

market is up since 2010 - no doubt about that. 2010 was still a time of stress for RE. There is much less pressure on sellers today.

Banks frequently give appraisers a "sense of direction". Mortgage brokers
even moreso. But +10 in a +4-7 market doesnt seem very inaccurate. There
are mamy factors which might account for that theoretical discrepancy,
including the fact that you underpaid when you bought.

If you're troubled and want peace of mind, call your seller and offer to
send him/her an extra 5% so that your new comp works more obviously.

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the input. The apartment is hard to value since there haven't been many comparable sales (1 brdm in Hudson Heights)- so I understand the need to look at the appraisal as an estimate with a high margin of error.

seaver69:

1. the NYC real estate market does not move up or down uniformly
2. different neighborhoods/unit sizes/layouts move differently in price
3. given appropriate differential price movement your apt might have been underappraised

Looking for a good appraiser in the exact same neighborhood....did you ever find someone ?

Thx!

Hi We are an appraisal company servicing the five boroughs and Nassau County specializing in Upper Manhattan. Please email me at appraiserny@yahoo.com for a reasonable quote (much less than $1250-promise).

Hi. In my experience. Appraisals can be way off. Appraising is an odd field and there isn't a lot of accountability. I have had appraisers add fireplaces and terraces that weren't there and appraise weirdly high, as well as claim far fewer square feet an less bathrooms and appraise lower. You can generally ask the bank to reappraise if you want. Feel free to call 646-269-1072 Alexandra Florio TOWN Residential