I also think it side tracked from focus on it’s own expressed concerns by suggesting AVMs may be or have been potential solutions to the temporary and isolated instances where turn times became longer due to temporary or cyclical upsurges in demand.

It had an element of ‘you really shouldn’t do this, but if you do…’ add some meaningless protections.

The cautionary recommendation by NAR to be careful and appropriately selective in the use of AVMs will get lost in the bureaucratic Federal Regulators interaction with FNMA and other GSEs.

Eventually ALL property will be deemed suitable for AMVs by self serving loan originators and profiteers…just as it was with the old 704 Drive-By that morphed into the 2055;. That ‘technological advance’ was so the pretense of a more meaningful analysis and evaluation than was actually performed, could be conveyed to investors.

Not ALL technology is beneficial to consumers.

By the way, once Big Data has supplanted the appraiser, who is going to need the Realtor® ?  I have over 47 years experience in the RE & finance industry and would not think of buying or selling real estate without a Realtor®…but then I know of the pitfalls and benefits involved. Do the millennials really know the shortcomings of R.E. tech?

The reasons for my insistence on a Realtor® are many, but once automation comes into play, its promoters overlook all those reasons. Especially the ones about future liability long after the transaction.

I’m not anti technology or progress by any means. I LOVED my old FormFil PC+ appraisal software. It didn’t pretend to be anything other than what it actually was. I even liked the old dos Heyn/ACI, and WinTotal. I’d probably even like Narrative One if it were not an annual subscription service.

Unfortunately growth in technology and it’s benefits have not been honestly portrayed. It has developed in an amoral environment that carries over to the way software marketing is conducted. Is there ANYONE that really thinks social media or online blogs are reliably honest information sources  ‘most of the time’?

The same applies to software peddling.

WHO does cloud based technology actually benefit?

The appraiser that has more than four times as much work to perform and report or; the developer that found out they can rent their product for as much per year as they used to sell it for?

How about for Brokers and agents? We USED to sit across the table from sellers with agents for both sides presenting a single offer and NEGOTIATING a deal suitable to both sides. Now its a case of “Present your highest and best” offer out of the gate and “offers will be accepted and reviewed over the next week or so and if you are deemed worthy” you may be selected by the sellers. A take it or leave it atmosphere.

Think you can enhance your offer by over bidding on the property? Be careful! Some actions being promoted by technology actually defy most definitions of market value. You will likely pay more than it’s worth in the market to anyone other than yourself.

When I sell my property, it will NOT be through a broker that thinks an emailed offer without both agents present is going to be acceptable.

Nor will it be through a broker that routinely advertises how they are always getting 5% or 10% more than the listing price. If they are that incompetent in determining what price to offer a property at, why should I trust them with the listing?

Whether they are so busy they cannot present their own offers for their $30,000 (gross @median) commission, or whether their software peddlers told them how much time they can save by using computerized forms and email or MongoFax, I’m not hiring a broker that I do not get the personal professional level of representation I believe to be necessary.

NAR pointed out numerous issues and challenges to be addressed but provided no firm solutions. They expressed agreement with low LTV 80% loans where appraisers are not needed but no one has said how that 80% threshold is going to be determined without an appraisal!

I have a possible solution. Let FNMA and anyone else that is not covered by any form of taxpayer guarantees; insurance or back stopping such as ‘too big to fail’ use whatever method they want to make loans. That includes no recourse to any FDIC bank for any reason by FNMA or it’s investors. NO BUY BACK provisions at all. No recourse loans.

Then give the SEC all the teeth and enforcement authority it needs to insure that investors in FNMA bundled securities are not being defrauded.

I guarantee the investors will then insist on valid valuation methods.

Methods that don’t rely on cyber-smoke & chicken bones; Ouija boards, crystal balls or twisted explanations of how ‘science’ and big data can be “leveraged” for anything other than prying taxpayers wallets open.

PS-Disclosure I’m an appraiser Realtor®…but that doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t think for myself.