As residential home prices rise, appraisers have been forced to retool their operations from the time four years prior when prices were trending downward.

Once the housing market crashed, the federal government tightened lending restrictions and initiated and implemented stringent guidelines. Appraisers took the brunt of the pain in the transition, especially as it pertained to the procedures appraisers used in evaluating of the real estate for lenders.

In the past, appraisers compiled resumes, which were sent to the various lenders in order to be placed on the lender’s list. The good, established, reliable appraisers received the lion’s share of the work.

After the reconstruction of 2008, entities known as appraisal management companies (AMC) were established. Lenders were required to send appraisal request to these companies, adding a layer of bureaucracy to the transaction that supposedly would protect the consumer.

In its infancy, AMCs caused confusion, and the appraisers who were more skilled at paper pushing and bureaucratic governmental procedures received most of the business. It was not uncommon for two Realtors to have a conversation in which one remarked “Do you remember John Smith the appraiser?” The other would answer, “Sure, but I haven’t seen him in years. I thought he was dead.” The other, “No he did three appraisals for me last week.”

Another infamous incident occurred when an out-of-town appraiser was unable to locate the Adelicia. After several phone calls to the agent who was awaiting the appraiser, the agent yelled in frustration, “Look up in the air! See that building? The only high-rise in sight? Well, drive to it.”

Since the AMC was receiving a fee for placing the appraisal, the appraisers were receiving less money and less work. So they had to increase their prices, which are still the best bargain in real estate. Who pays? The consumer, of course.

Currently, it appears that some stability has entered the process, and the reputable appraisers have found their way to the business. However, they are under such scrutiny that many feared they would not be able to adjust to a rising market. But the strength of the sectors in the Nashville market cannot be ignored, and the appraisal industry has responded accordingly. Now, to infinity and beyond.

Sales of the week

“That’s why they make chocolate and vanilla,” is a saying that applies to both of this week’s featured sales. Both buyers spent more than $1,000,000 on new construction, but that’s where the similarities end.

The first sale is a condominium located at 110 31st Avenue in the development known as The West End Luxury Condominiums. It sold for $1,314,853. Evidently the buyer’s agent, Sue Chilton with Zeitlin and Company Realtors, entered into some fierce negotiations with listing agents Tommy Patterson and Lisa Powers of French, Christianson, Patterson and Associates, negotiating to the final dollar. Neither party left anything on the table in this one.

This 10th floor West End residence consists of 3,383 square feet and sold for $307 per square foot for its three-bedroom, two-bath design.

Down Granny White Pike a few miles, just past Richland Country Club, Mary Beth Thomas of Fridrich and Clark Realty delivered a buyer to the home at 913 Dorset Drive, where Worth Properties’ Laura Baugh had a home listed with 4,926 square feet, five bedrooms and six and a-half bathrooms. This house was located on a half-acre lot and sold for $1,184,000, or $244 per square foot.

It’s a rare phenomenon in Nashville when a condominium and two houses sell for more than $1,000,000 in the same week, especially with a Midtown high-rise commanding more than $300 per foot for three bedrooms and a five-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bath manse on a half-acre brings a healthy $240 per square foot.

Richard Courtney is a real estate broker with French, Christianson, Patterson, and Associates and can be reached at [email protected].