What does it mean to say that an appraiser is geographically competent?

Appraisers are expected to be familiar with the location being appraised, or they are expected to spend sufficient time to understand the nuances of the local market as well as supply and demand factors relating to the specific property type.

There is not a specific rule saying that an appraiser must live within a certain distance of a home's location. The best way to be sure an appraiser is familiar with your community is to ask them questions, and see if their answers reflect local familiarity. Our appraisers were born and raised in Palm Beach County with 20+ years of experience in local real estate. We are familiar with virtually every local community. Considering how flat our landscape is, Palm Beach County has a wide variety of areas with vastly different locational appeal. Our appraisers are indisputably geographically competent in the locations we appraise.

We have experience with small barrier island communities like Briny Breezes & Ocean Ridge, intracoastal locations like Tropic Bay & Coquina Cove, historic eastern locations like downtown El Cid & College Park, and the inland waterway in areas like Jupiter & Tequesta.

The western areas of the county provide a variety of a different sort. Appraising specialty communities like The Acreage, Aero Club, Palm Beach Point, Breakers West and Homeland require intimate understanding of their specific submarket value drivers. Our appraisers have performed thousands of appraisals locally over multiple decades and have the experience to provide a reliable result.

As development has continued within and beyond The Acreage and Jupiter Farms, we have been there to wonder at the expansion. The communities of Arden, Westlake and Avenir have risen quickly and are expanding the western population. We will continue to be in these rural areas, taking note of the market changes and keeping up with latest expansion announcements.

Our downtown areas have also seen incredible expansion over the years and now support vast commercial districts in West Palm Beach (Clematis & City Place), Jupiter (Abacoa & Alton), Lake Worth (Gulfstream Hotel and Lake/Lucerne Strip), Delray Beach (Atlantic Ave), and more coming every day. As the cities we grew up in continue to evolve, we are diligently tracking market changes.

Using a knowledgeable local for your appraisal needs can be the difference between paying for a well-reasoned report and wasting your money on a report that does not seem to make a lot of sense. A discount appraiser may drive in to the area and be less familiar than you may be comfortable with. When using Touchstone Real Estate Services, you can be confident that your appraiser is intimately familiar with your location and local market conditions.