Author: Martens Appraisal

Overall Economic Activity The U.S. economy expanded at a slight to modest pace since the prior report as business activity varied across the country. Reports from Districts representing states in the southern and western U.S. generally were more upbeat than Districts representing the Midwest and Great Plains. Household spending was solid on balance: nonauto retail sales increased modestly, while light vehicle sales were generally robust. Tourism and travel-related spending was up modestly. Housing market conditions changed little. On the business spending side, nonresidential construction increased at a slightly slower yet…

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Jeff Linsner with Martens Appraisal recently completed work on some raw land in Park City, Kansas. The key to determining the value of raw land is to determine what the highest and best use of the property is. There are many considerations to be made in evaluating the property, but in the end, what the property can be used for is probably the most important factor in determining the value of the property. Our team of qualified appraisers uses their years of experience to lead them to the proper conclusions.…

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Kendra Collier recent completed an appraisal report on a proposed restaurant in Maize, Kansas. The restaurant industry has evolved over the past few decades. The local, non-franchised restaurant has been somewhat replaced with trendier, franchised property. Changing restaurant trends have changed the types of buildings used as restaurants, in some cases rendering older restaurant buildings functionally obsolete. Resturant appraisals are more challenging than they were when looking at a more traditional facility. Not all appraisers have the expertise to determine these differences which may materially impact property values. Martens Appraisal…

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Jeff Linsner recently completed work on a number of retail/office properties in Eureka, Kansas. The reports were prepared for traditional lending. Determining property values in small towns and more rural regions can be a challenging task for appraisers. The main issue is the availability of information, or in the case of small towns, the lack of information. Martens Appraisal does work across Kansas and has taken steps to make sure we have access to the most accurate and timely data out there. We interview market participants to gather lease information…

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Overall Economic ActivityOn balance, reports from Federal Reserve Districts suggested that the economy expanded at a modest pace through the end of August. Although concerns regarding tariffs and trade policy uncertainty continued, the majority of businesses remained optimistic about the near-term outlook. Reports on consumer spending were mixed, although auto sales for most Districts grew at a modest pace. Tourism activity since the previous report remained solid in most reporting Districts. On balance, transportation activity softened, which some reporting Districts attributed to slowing global demand and heightened trade tensions. Home…

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The smallest apartment units are doing wonders for developers’ bottom lines, according to a new analysis by CoStar. Source: Smaller Apartments Are Doing Big Things For Developers

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The newest round of tariffs on China went into effect this weekend, and a couple of major retailers are in surprisingly good position to accommodate them. Source: These Retailers Aren’t Sweating The New Tariffs

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Martens Appraisal typically performs over 600 appraisal reports per year and we are often confronted with a situation where we performed a report for one client and now another party is looking to get their own opinion of value on the property. This request is usually for us to “readdress” the report to the new client. Or we may be asked to “recertify the value” for the new client. Another request we get is to “update” a report we have done previously for a new client. There is a lot…

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Lee Whyte, MAI recently completed an appraisal report on a large shopping center in Wichita, Kansas. The appraisal was prepared for traditional financing purposes. Although the process of appraising shopping centers is straightforward, they are still complex properties.  In order to get an accurate valuation, an appraiser must have a great deal of market knowledge and retail tenants as well as recent comparables. Martens Appraisal prides itself on having the most up to date information available on the Wichita, Kansas market. Our full-time research staff is hard at work making…

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Overall Economic ActivityEconomic activity continued to expand at a modest pace overall from mid-May through early July, with little change from the prior reporting period. In most Districts, sales of retail goods increased slightly overall, although vehicle sales were flat. Activity in the nonfinancial services sector rose further. Tourism activity was broadly solid, with Atlanta and Richmond recording robust growth in this sector. Although some Districts continued to report healthy expansion in the transportation sector, others noted that activity declined modestly. On balance, home sales picked up somewhat, but residential…

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