What should an appraiser do during the data collection and analysis step?

During the data collection and analysis step, identifying market trends is essential because it allows an appraiser to understand the current state and movement of the real estate market. Analyzing these trends helps the appraiser to predict future values and sets the context for property valuation. This understanding is vital to provide accurate and justifiable appraisals, as market trends inform everything from sales prices to demand in various segments of the market.

While determining zoning classifications, applying the three approaches to value, and assessing local demographics are all important tasks in the overall appraisal process, they do not specifically fall under the initial data collection and analysis phase in the way that identifying market trends does. Zoning classifications can impact value but are a separate factor from market trends. The application of value approaches is conducted later in the process after data has been collected and analyzed, and local demographics also frame the context for the analysis but are not directly about market trends themselves.