Given the nature of 9/11, one might intuitively conclude that real property markets everywhere must have been severely impacted. Alternatively, one might conclude that real property markets in areas far from New York City or Washington, DC, were not impacted much, if at all. However, without good evidence, either stance is merely conjecture. As always, appraisers must be particularly careful to avoid making unsupported assumptions one way or the other. However, gathering sufficient information to support any conclusion can be difficult. Compared to the stock market and the markets for many other types of investments, real property markets are inefficient particularly due to delayed, incomplete and inadequate information. Real property markets often appear to react very slowly, even when the events themselves are sudden. In actuality, they become frozen in time, paralyzed with inactivity. Decisions to buy, sell, lease, remodel or expand are postponed. Investors, tenants, landlords, and other market participant s take a wait-and-see attitude. (Moin Siddiqi, 2002, pp 67)
Even so, business pressures continue, and after the initial shock of the event has subsided, decisions set aside are taken up again. Appraisers normally draw their conclusions about the market by observing activities such as sales, leases, listings, renovations and new construction. This data is investigated and analyzed and from it conclusions are deduced about the subject property's value. But when those activities cease to occur, measuring changes in the market becomes extremely difficult. This was clearly the case in the immediate aftermath of September 11. At that point, we had no idea how, or to what degree, markets would react. However, now markets are starting to become active again, and more information is becoming available as to what the reaction has been. (Dan Rather, Anthony Mason, 2001, pp 9)
The economic impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the world economy is just beginning to be felt............
