The true value of anything is what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to accept in exchange for that item. If demand is high on something, and supply is low, the value tends to go up. On the other hand if there is a glut on the market of an item, the value goes down because it is said to be a buyers market. That’s pretty much the way it works when it comes to determining value. And that includes housing. So I am a little perplexed by the claim that a house that is subject to a mandatory membership housing association increases the value of the property. It makes no sense and flies in the face of the traditional understanding of how values are arrived at and understood. It is especially perplexing given that so many housing consumers specifically request non HOA housing but are told they do not exist. “There is nothing on the market.” On the off chance that a non HOA house becomes available it is advertised as “Non HOA” and that’s a valuable marketing tool. It sets it apart from other houses on the market. It is true that non HOA housing is rare, often old and sometimes require a complete overhaul and update, making them expensive. But they are still highly sought after.
Bill Davis joins me On The Commons. Bill, a frequent guest, friend and attorney lives in Texas and is one of only a few attorneys who represents homeowners against their HOAs. He is well versed and experienced on what routinely goes on . Bill and I talk about property values, what needs to be included when calculating the monetary value as well as other values and costs that we seldom think about. One thing we both agree on is that housing consumers need to have all the facts and all the information they can get in order to make an educated decision on what they are buying, or not buying. It is also important to know what questions to ask. Join us as we dive into all the ins and outs of determining the true value of that jewel with the beautiful view that you just fell in love with.
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I agree that the CAI surveys showing 127% satisfaction with HOA life are fishy.
But could you please get an expert in statistics and/or polls to provide a better argument than “we don’t like the results”?
As much as I like you and Bill, the two of you are no more qualified to talk about this subject than I am.
20 years ago, the CAI survey asked something like “Would you buy another home in a community association?” A large percentage of respondents said “no”. *
I haven’t seen that question on the CAI surveys in a while.
* I think that was from “Homeowner Boards Blur Line Of Just Who Rules the Roost” by Motoko Rich , New York Times, July 27 2003, but that article is now behind a paywall – so I can’t be sure. I should have listened to Evan McKenzie when he mentioned the article on his blog and wrote “Read and download before it disappears…”
Instead of you and Bill critiquing studies about “HOAs preserver property values” – which you are about as qualified to do as I am – why don’t you have somebody like Leon Robertson (Yale University, retired) on your program?
“Correlation of Homeowners Associations and Inferior Property Value Appreciation”
Critical Housing Analysis
Volume 6, Issue 1, February 17 2019
“The data in this study do not support the widespread assumption that homeowners associations protect property values more than neighbourhoods without such organizations. Indeed, the opposite is true. Increase or decrease in property values are mainly a function of changing economic conditions but financial returns on properties in homeowners associations are significantly lower than those outside such associations, particularly if purchased in years during the economic recovery after recessions. State and local laws that sanction homeowners associations and allow their coercive practices based on the premise of property value preservation are ill founded.”
http://www.housing-critical.com/home-page-1/correlation-of-homeowners-associations-and-infe
“Are HOAs Worth It?: A Look at the Numbers Show They Might Not Help Home Values”
Green Valley News
June 12, 2019
“The data show that HOAs are not protecting home price appreciation and they may be reducing it.”
https://www.gvnews.com/article_990de320-8cb5-11e9-aed2-e381c4c65364.html
Thank you. I am glad to see that Leon Robertson agrees re property values in HOAs. I will reach out to him and maybe get him on the show.