Providing thorough
and dependable commercial
real estate appraisal services
in the South Central
Pennsylvania area

Team Photo

OUR STRATEGY

At JSR Appraisal Group, Inc. we are dedicated to delivering appraisal services that you can count on and trust.

Here are some of our practices that help us achieve this goal

  • Deliver USPAP(Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) compliant reports
  • Encourage open dialogue and discussion to ensure the scope of work and appraisal assignment meets the Client's expectations and needs
  • Dependability and On-time Delivery
  • On-going extensive research of market sales and lease activity
    • We subscribe to most local multi-list services and Co-Star to track and analyze sales activity
    • Pro-actively review and extract sales data from County sources (STEB) reports
    • Interact with market participants, brokers and investors to gauge strategies and conditions of sales
    • Utilize a database system to capture market activity
  • Commitment to continued learning through education, peer-to-peer interaction, and discussion with investors, developers and market participants
  • Track national trends and subscribe to real estate publications to enhance our knowledge of the ever-changing market
  • Explore new tools and technology to provide the best product possible
  • Quick follow-up to questions and reviews

OUR TEAM

JSR Appraisal Group, Inc. is a commercial appraisal firm in Pennsylvania, focusing in the South Central Pennsylvania market. The appraisal firm opened its doors on January 1, 2015, co-founded by Judith L. Striewig and Michael Shane Rorke. Both Judy and Shane are certified general appraisers with over 30 years of combined experience.

Judy Striewig
Judy Striewig
Certified General Appraiser
Certification # GA003867
Appraisal Institute MAI Logo

Judith L. Striewig has been a resident of South Central Pennsylvania her entire life. Commercial real estate appraising is a second career path for Ms. Striewig. After college, she worked for several years in the field of technology as a computer programmer, data analyst, project manager, and business design analyst. In 2004 an opportunity to apprentice in the residential appraisal arena presented itself, until 2008 when she made a move to appraise commercial real estate. She earned her general certification in 2011 and earned an MAI designation with the Appraisal Institute in January 2018. Ms. Striewig has two children, enjoys being active, and loves traveling and seeing different parts of the world.

M. Shane Rorke
M. Shane Rorke
Certified General Appraiser
Certification # GA001806

M. Shane Rorke has lived in South Central Pennsylvania his entire life. He entered into the commercial real estate appraisal field in 1996 and has been appraising commercial real estate ever since. Mr. Rorke earned his general certification in 2001. With his wealth of experience Mr. Rorke has appraised most all types of commercial real estate. In recent years he has focused on land subdivision appraisal work and has tracked many Central Pennsylvania markets for in-depth absorption analysis.

Jody Ritrievi
Jody Ritrievi
Administrative & Research Director
 

Jody M. Ritrievi has lived in Central Pennsylvania most of her life. Ms. Ritrievi was a professional ballerina before completing her paralegal degree in 1998. She worked for an attorney in downtown Harrisburg, before choosing to stay home with her three children. Ms. Ritrievi has been a Notary Public for 4 years and has worked as a research analyst for Ms. Striewig since 2012, learning from her experience and knowledge of the commercial appraisal business.

Alec Werner
Alec Werner
Certified General Real Estate Appraiser
License #GA-004529

Alec V. Werner was born and raised in the South Central Pennsylvania area. In May of 2017 he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from West Chester University. Before graduating from college, Alec served as an intern with the accounting and finance department at Select Medical Corp in 2015, and also as an intern at JSR Appraisal Group in 2016. After graduating from college, JSR hired Alec as a licensed appraiser trainee before earning his general certification in 2020. Alec has gained great experience over the years appraising many different property types.

Matt Cody
Matt Cody
Licensed Appraiser Trainee
Certification #LAT001178

Matt Cody was raised in South Central Pennsylvania and graduated from Mechanicsburg Area Senior High in 2016. Following high school graduation he attended Penn State Altoona branch campus and played baseball for two years before transferring to Temple University. In May of 2021 he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. In the summer of 2021, shortly after graduating college, Matt started working as an appraiser trainee at JSR Appraisal Group where he is currently working toward his general certification.

OUR SERVICES

Judy Striewig and Shane Rorke are certified in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Our primary focus is in the South Central Pennsylvania market area which include the following counties:

  • Adams
  • Cumberland
  • Dauphin
  • Franklin
  • Lancaster
  • Lebanon
  • Perry
  • York

We provide appraisal assignments for a variety of uses including:

  • Financial underwriting
  • Lease Analysis
  • Market Studies
  • Estate Planning
  • Buy-Sell Decisions
  • Tax Appeals
  • Litigation
  • Condemnation
  • Partnership Buyouts
  • Lease vs. Buy Options
  • Portfolio Valuation

Property Types We Appraise:

  • Professional Offices
  • Ground Lease Analysis
  • Financial Institutions
  • Residential Subdivisions
  • Special Use Properties
  • Large Scale Retail Complexes
  • Medical Offices (MOB)
  • Industrial Properties
  • Convenience Stores
  • Eminent Domain
  • Vacant Land
  • Multi-Phase Development Projects
  • Retail Properties
  • Flex Buildings
  • Multi-Family / Apartments
  • Hotels / Motels
  • Car Washes
  • Mixed Use Properties

TOPICS OF INTEREST

Real Estate Taxes and Considerations for Tax Appeal

Real property taxes are a significant source of income for local authorities. Generally there are three main taxes levied on real property in Pennsylvania:

  • County Taxes
  • Municipal Taxes
  • School Taxes

Several municipalities have other real property taxes including library, fire services, and several other community amenities that may be in addition to or built into the taxes above.

Pennsylvania assessment laws require that real estate be valued according to its "actual value" and at a bona fide rate and price for which the property would separately sell, which is interpreted as market value. Therefore properties are assigned an assessment value.

The assessed value and the appropriate millage rate is used to calculate real estate taxes. Millage rates are the amount per $1,000 that is used to calculate taxes on property. County millage rates are the same for all municipalities in the county, while the municipal and school taxes vary by municipality and school district. The assessed value is multiplied by the millage rate to calculate the tax expense for a property.

In most counties taxes are due twice a year. In late winter/spring the County and Municipal taxes are sent to taxpayers and in mid-summer the school taxes are sent to taxpayers.

Are Taxes Appropriate for Property Value

A 'base year' establishes an assessed value equal to market value for properties within each county. However as property values increase or decrease over years, the assessment value remains unchanged for a property. To reflect market value using the 'fixed' assessment value, a common level ratio is established annually for each county. A common level ratio (CLR) is: 'the ratio of assessed value to current market value used generally in the county as last determined by the State Tax Equalization Board (STEB)." The common level ratio factor is the reciprocal of the common level ratio. A common level ratio of .98 would be equivalent to a common level ratio factor of 1.02 (1 ÷ 0.98). If a property is assessed for $450,000 and the county has a common level ratio factor of 1.02, the 'implied' market value is $459,000 ($450,000 x 1.02). Or, if a property is assessed for $450,000 and the common level ratio factor is 0.90, the implied market value is $405,000 ($450,000 x 0.90).

Note, counties do not typically re-assess each year. When a county has a re-assessment, the common level ratio factor is 1.00 and is considered the new base year. Following are the current common level ratio factors for several South Central Pennsylvania counties:

County CLR Appeal Deadline Last Re-Assessment
Adams 1.14 August 1 2010
Cumberland 1.17 September 1 2010
Dauphin 1.91 August 1 2001
Lancaster 1.47 August 1 2018
Lebanon 1.39 September 1 2013
Perry 1.41 September 1 2010
Franklin 10.53 August 1 1961
York 1.52 August 1 2006

*CLR Factors as of January 2021

When considering a tax appeal, the 'implied market value' is calculated using assessed value and the common level ratio factor. This amount is then compared to actual market value of a property. If the implied market value exceeds the actual market value, a tax appeal may be warranted. Other factors to consider when deciding to appeal your real estate taxes is how much money will you actually save compared to the cost of filing an appeal. Tax appeal costs include the initial filing fees, possible appraisal fees and possible attorney/legal fees. Not all tax appeals are successful so there is the risk of no change to your assessed value or your annual real estate taxes. Each county has an appeal deadline when all appeals for the following year must be submitted for consideration for taxes for the next year. Above is the deadline for each county.

1 As defined by Pennsylvania Law

South Central Pennsylvania Home Sale Average Price Summary by Year

Following are average home (residential) sale prices by year and county over the last twelve years in the South Central Pennsylvania market area. All statistics are extracted from local MLS services and may exclude private and non-brokered sales. Analysis of the year over year average price points to 2011 as the low mark of the recession in South Central PA. Every county in the eight-county region saw price appreciation in 2020, despite Covid-19.

County 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Adams $173,853 $176,408 $174,878 $184,662 $189,694 $188,408 $198.741 $208,677 $218,625 $236,197 $274,494 $284,892
Cumberland $203,407 $203,006 $211,686 $214,764 $211,790 $215,177 $225,020 $227,069 $236,442 $257,552 $287,722 $325,736
Dauphin $159,844 $163,078 $159,104 $160,942 $167,137 $173,106 $181,990 $181,495 $193,051 $205,886 $233,794 $257,202
Franklin $156,742 $159,314 $162,378 $166,701 $163,487 $171,363 $175,969 $187,796 $190,741 $206,279 $233,601 $256,171
Lancaster $175,079 $183,550 $188,280 $191,444 $198,682 $205,059 $211,340 $221,365 $234,349 $256,440 $292,083 $329,785
Lebanon $159,849 $156,834 $172,158 $163,938 $166,598 $177,328 $180,611 $192,408 $200,745 $210,827 $239,973 $269,576
Perry $135,588 $142,933 $139,006 $141,017 $148,317 $153,230 $163,002 $177,294 $191,225 $194,525 $228,419 $239,021
York $158,327 $158,569 $160,084 $163,437 $166,018 $173,979 $184,659 $191,468 $200,465 $217,050 $242,656 $268,895

Average Home Sales Price

Average Days on the Market

County 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Adams 121 126 107 100 88 84 75 67 62 49 25 25
Cumberland 111 106 97 86 79 65 64 55 47 38 20 17
Dauphin 117 107 94 95 85 70 68 58 49 37 22 19
Franklin 147 138 124 121 127 109 92 86 66 58 26 26
Lancaster 89 82 72 66 59 49 45 45 38 34 20 17
Lebanon 109 107 95 105 98 77 65 58 48 35 21 18
Perry 117 107 103 107 94 68 75 65 59 46 27 20
York 89 86 78 75 70 64 54 52 47 40 18 19

Rate Hike Information

The year 2023 began quite differently than the beginning of 2022. The first half of 2022 experienced continued strong real estate value growth emerging from the pandemic, and most markets remained a 'seller's market'. However 2021 and 2022 also saw climbing inflation numbers with the price of goods soaring.

To curb inflation and stop or stall a recession, the Federal Reserve set on a path of raising interest rates in 2022. Throughout 2022 rates were increased 425 basis points ending the year with the federal fund rate of 4.25% to 4.50%; rates were 0.25% to 0.50% at the beginning of the year 2022.

  • 0.25% increase - March 2022
  • 0.50% increase - May 2022
  • 0.75% increase - June 2022
  • 0.75% increase - July 2022
  • 0.75% increase - September 2022
  • 0.75% increase - November 2022
  • 0.50% increase - December 2022

The early rate increases did little to subdue real estate value or commodity pricing. Mid 2022 the rate increases began to take affect and real estate transactions began to slow. Early 2023 saw a significant slow-down in real estate activity. Pending anticipation of a possible recession, the higher cost of borrowing, and continued global unrest with the Ukraine war contributed to the slow-down. Market activity stalled and participants seemed to take on a 'wait and see' approach. In January / February 2023 rates were increased an additional 0.25%.