A few years ago we were concerned that individuals that had been in their homes for many years and had taken advantage of the homestead exemption and Amendment 10 were locked into their homes because of increasing taxes. Thanks to Gov. Charlie Christ, a solution came about called "Portability" which enabled homeowners to sell their homes and carry their tax savings with them to their new home.
Today we have a similar problem. Homeowners are being locked into their homes because of declining home values. I have been told by several appraisers that if foreclosures are the only thing selling in a community for the past 3 months then that is what they must appraise all the properties on. This process could reduce a home's value by 40-50%. To further hinder the process, lenders are selecting appraisers which may not be from the area. A local appraiser knows exactly what's going on in their market and which communities are similar so that they use them for comparable sales. Regional appraisers will either use only properties from the same community or will use properties from another community that is close in proximity but not similar in style and amenities.
Essentially, this is increasing the number of "short sale" properties on the market. A homeowner may be willing lose the 20-30% equity that they have in their home in order to sell but can't afford to sell once the value has dropped 50%. At that point, their choice is to either stay in the home if they can or to do a "short sale".
Unfortunately, there's not easy solution to this problem. If you are selling your home (and it's not a foreclosure situation), you have the right to write into the contract that a local appraiser must be used. While this doesn't guarantee a good appraisal, it will at least increase your chances.
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