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Working in the affordable housing field is often a challenge for appraisers and market analysts. Projects are complicated, developers are impatient, government regulations change, and lenders and other clients see things from their own vantage points. The appraiser who values an affordable housing project has a responsibility to understand, interpret, and apply the principles of the real estate marketplace to assist these professionals in effective decision-making.

 

Any property developed under an affordable housing program has a set of individual characteristics and a unique development scenario. Nevertheless, certain principles apply to all the conditions an appraiser is likely to find in analyzing these complicated projects. This publication aims to explain the basic principles and techniques of affordable housing that appraisers need to understand to serve clients and uphold high standards of practice.

 

About the Author
Richard E. Polton, MAI, CRE, AICP/PP, has been active in the real estate industry since 1979 and has been appraising property since 1990. He leads the affordable housing market study and valuation practice of Value Research Group, LLC, based in Livingston, New Jersey. Mr. Polton has consulted on property tax assessment issues pertaining to affordable housing on a national level and is a founding member of the National Council of Affordable Housing Market Analysts (NCAHMA).