comparable sales - Appraisers Blogs

From Data to Value: How Mass Appraisal Delivers Fair Market Assessments

Guest Author — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:30:54 +0000

Behind every annual notice of assessments is a complex valuation system most property owners never realize exists. The Appraisal Foundation defines mass appraisal as “the systematic appraisal of groups of properties as of a given date using standardized procedures and statistical testing.” In practice, mass appraisal is a method used to value large numbers of similar properties at the same time consistently. Properties may be grouped by physical characteristics, location, or property type. Mass appraisal is mostly used for ad valorem (property tax) assessments. Mass Appraisal in Henrico County To understand how mass appraisal functions in practice, it is helpful to look at how the process is applied at...

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Misleading Ads Sow Mistrust

AppraisersBlogs — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 12:30:42 +0000

These misleading ads are sowing seeds of mistrust in a time-tested profession. The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) has recently launched a concerning campaign of poster ads, billboard ads, and magazine ads that falsely accuse home appraisers of basing their valuations on the personal characteristics of the homeowners or prospective buyers, rather than solely on the objective merits and features of the property itself. This is a deeply misleading and unjust narrative that undermines the integrity of the appraisal profession, which is founded on the core principle of providing an independent, impartial assessment of a home’s value. Appraisers are highly...

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The Illogical Reality of Mortgage Appraisal Reviews

Dallas T. Kiedrowski, MNAA — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 12:30:28 +0000

Reforming the appraisal review process is essential to maintaining the integrity of the real estate market and protecting consumers and homeowners. In mortgage financing, the appraisal process is often seen as the foundation of accurate property valuation and market stability. However, beneath this façade of reliability lies a troubling rift: while real estate appraisers must navigate stringent licensing protocols and scrutiny, the individuals reviewing the appraisals often operate with minimal oversight, instead leaning heavily on automated systems and algorithms. This stark disparity not only undermines the credibility of the review process but also revives the threat of past missteps, once...

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Majority of Reviewers Had Very Limited Field Experience

Guest Author — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 12:30:55 +0000

It was my experience that the majority of reviewers, FNMA included, had very limited field experience. Which is painfully obvious when they request baseless revisions for “more or better comps”. I’m a Certified General Appraiser that started appraising in 1984, almost 40 years ago! Spent the majority of my career appraising both residential and commercial properties in a major metropolitan market. I had my own appraisal firm for a number of years, prior to the AMC model which dissolved years of relationship building with clients large and small, almost overnight! Like most of you, I really enjoyed appraising and was...

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Fannie Mae Filed a Complaint Against Me

AppraisersBlogs — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 12:30:39 +0000

An appraiser shared the following with us which was posted on one of the appraisers’ groups. Fannie Mae filed a complaint against me with my state appraisal board. Here’s what happened. The Report In June of 2021, I completed an appraisal for a conventional purchase. The appraisal was ordered by an AMC on behalf of a lender. At that time, the real estate market was still being wildly affected by the COVID pandemic. Remote work was in full swing, and consumers were desperately seeking to get out of the cities. Prices for all types of residential properties were rising rapidly,...

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Fannie’s Loan Buyback Sophistry Relies on Modifying Analysts’ Behavior

Jeremy Bagott — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 12:30:23 +0000

“Many of the repurchase letters make no sense,” said the insider. If analysts don’t write enough defects on those files, they get hammered. If analysts fall short of their peers in “production points,” it’s considered their fault, said the insider. At the heart of Fannie Mae’s valuation system is a tool that shunts a subset of the millions of loans purchased by the mortgage giant each year into a “high risk” pool. Fannie then pressures and incentivizes a corps of in-house analysts to create further doubt about the loans in order to send repurchase demands to lenders for up to...

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The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0”

Michael Ford — Mon, 15 May 2023 12:30:53 +0000

Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie Mae is increasingly being referred to by some, if not many American Appraisers as The Fraudulator / Underwriter 2.0 (FU-2). To be clear it is not limited to the Collateral Underwriter (CU & CU-2) software. The new Fraudulator (FU-2) combines the CU products with their numerous improper uses. The end result of which includes OUTRIGHT FRAUD being perpetrated against banks via the repurchase letters Fannie Mae now issues on a quota based system rather than because of legitimate appraisal defects....

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Appraisers the Convenient Scapegoats

Guest Author — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 13:30:30 +0000

The appraisers are the convenient scapegoats every time. Anytime the real estate market takes a hit, 99% of the time it is because of banking and lending practices. The appraisers are the convenient scapegoats every time. During the 1980s it was the commercial side, yet residential appraisers received both barrels of double-odd buck. Then in 2008 again: stated income, 40 year loans, predatory lending (REFINANCING), NO money down (no skin in the game); people used their homes as a slot machine that paid out every time; that is as long as the market values continued to rise. Predatory lenders had...

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Bias and Discrimination in Reports, Yes or No?

Dave Towne — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 13:30:57 +0000

Appraisers, should we include discussion of B&D in our reports? Wait, What?? Bondage and Discipline? No, not that. Bias and Discrimination. Yes, it must be addressed very clearly. Now, before you blow a cork or throw your mouse at the computer screen, let’s examine what’s really been impacting ‘us’ for the past 4 plus years. One of our peers, who’s become somewhat famous for the way articles are written about appraisal and other topics, had a recent article ‘rebroadcasted’ in AppraisersBlogs, FTX Bought Government’s Silence; Did Fintechs Buy Attacks on Appraisers? A statement in that article exposes some of what has...

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The VA Required to Encourage Hybrids – Senate Passes HR 7735

Dave Towne — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 13:30:10 +0000

The VA will now be required to encourage hybrid appraisals. If you are a VA Appraiser, here’s a bit of news you need to keep tabs on. Senate Passes VA Appraisal Modernization Measure – theMReport.com The U.S. Senate has announced the passage of HR 7735, the Improving Access to the VA Home Loan Benefit Act of 2022. Under the terms of HR 7735, sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Mike Bost, the VA will be required to: Issue certification requirements for appraisers; Execute minimum property requirements; Review the process for selecting and reviewing comparable sales; Implement quality control processes; Establish...

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UAD Composite Property Data Info Released to the Public

Dave Towne — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 12:30:08 +0000

Appraisers, since 2011, the GSEs (called the ‘Enterprises’) have been collecting and analyzing appraisal data using their proprietary Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) which was overlaid on four of the standard GSE appraisal forms, SFR’s and Condo’s only. Ever since then, appraisers and other users have complained that none of that data was available. Well, now it is available, but not highly detailed down to specific properties. See below for the web site link. Some of that data is granular down to specific Census Tracts, which appraisers seldom, if ever, use in their market analysis to determine comparable sales and their...

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The Appraisal Problem

Guest Author — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 12:30:37 +0000

Gone are the days of hiring a professional appraiser to solve the appraisal problem. For decades lenders have taken on the responsibility of shaping the appraisal process and dictating the solutions to the appraisal problem. Savvy appraisers push back in a positive fashion to try and enable the lender to receive a report that not only meets USPAP, FIRREA, Fannie Mae, or HUD/FHA/VA an UAD reporting guidelines, but also provides the client with a report that is clear, concise, accurate and not misleading. An appraisal report can be on time, have all the boxes checked, no inconsistencies, meet all the...

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Remove Predominant Price from New Forms

Dave Towne — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 12:30:40 +0000

Something that has ‘stuck in my craw’ or ‘frosted my cookies’ for years is the nonsense about stating a specific “PREDOMINANT” price for neighborhood homes. And then being forced to explain why the Opinion of Value is not precisely that number, and if not, why not. Real estate is IMPERFECT. Properties, especially comparables, seldom, if ever, sell for the very same or extremely similar prices. If that is the case, how can there be an exact “PREDOMINANT” figure? The possible exception to this are highly dense urban developments where the new construction homes are cookie cutters, and the builder sells...

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Racial Targeting Under the Heading of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Jeremy Bagott — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 12:30:18 +0000

This time around, the racial targeting is masked as a virtue under the heading “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” or “DEI.” Valuation Jiu-Jitsu Will Lead to Future Addie Polks Addie Polk was a 91-year-old African-American widow who shot herself in the chest in 2008 during a Fannie Mae-initiated eviction in Akron, Ohio. It marked the low point in Fannie’s embrace of toxic mortgages. Fannie, now in federal conservatorship, bought or guaranteed subprime loans made to vulnerable borrowers in the years leading up to the 2007-2008 financial crisis. There are now signs of new abuses. Under the banner “equity and inclusion,” some...

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Eminent Domain Attorney Review

Guest Author — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 12:30:15 +0000

How Does an Eminent Domain Attorney Critique and Review An Appraisal Upon Which His Client’s Just Compensation Is Based? Attorneys representing property owners and appraisers responsible for documenting the value of the property being taken often work together in an eminent domain case. The appraiser develops an independent opinion of value for the property through an appraisal, and the attorney ensures that the appraisal is sufficient to support a just compensation determination in what is essentially a legal proceeding. The stakes can be high when a client’s valuation conclusion rests on a weak or improper appraisal. If the property owner’s...

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Proposal to Eliminate the VA Fee Panel

AppraisersBlogs — Fri, 20 May 2022 12:30:18 +0000

VA Fee Panel – The Appraisal Institute does not believe that a move to a lender select program, such as those found in the conventional or FHA mortgage markets, would improve timeliness, nor would it be in the best interests of veterans. On May 18, the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held a legislative hearing on the Discussion Draft of H.R. 7735, Improving Access to the VA Home Loan Act of 2022. The bill is sponsored by Representative Mike Bost, R-Illinois, the ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Veterans...

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Biased Appraisers? I Don’t Think So

Dave Towne — Wed, 18 May 2022 12:30:48 +0000

To judge an entire profession by anecdotal evidence is equally both stupid and harmful… The entire emphasis was on “anecdotal evidence” which is not documented or supported. Story after story was told about how appraisers had produced a “biased” report. No documentation and no evidence to support their claims was presented. Folks, after discussing this topic with and learning more about the appraiser who wrote this following essay, I have decided to distribute the essay below as a way to further support what we appraisers do in our work, and to expose the fallacies that have been presented to date...

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Solving the ANSI Measuring Dilemma

Dave Towne — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:30:51 +0000

…a brilliant ‘work around’ to solve the subject & comps adjustment issues, which Fannie Mae thinks is no big deal… Appraisers, I was chatting with an appraiser buddy last week about the ANSI measuring dilemma we all face when doing Conventional lending reports, which ultimately will wind up with Fannie Mae. In my view, my appraiser buddy has a brilliant ‘work around’ to solve the subject & comps adjustment issues, which Fannie Mae thinks is no big deal, but we all know will cause considerable consternation among users of our reports, and with appraisers trying to figure out how to...

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Proposed Design of the URAR

Dave Towne — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 12:30:03 +0000

Here’s the link to the ‘slide show’ the GSE’s have produced showing proposed design of the future, revised, URAR appraisal form. In my initial very quick observation of the proposed changes, there is FAR MORE INFO REQUESTED about the subject and comparable sales than the ‘current’ 2005 URAR form has on it. If this is what the final version will be like, the appraiser’s time to ‘complete the form report’ may increase exponentially. It may mean that the cost of the appraisal will increase. I hope people involved with this will be more sensitive to this aspect, unlike what was...

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ANSI Measuring Standard Required in 2022

AppraisersBlogs — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 13:30:35 +0000

On December 15, 2021, Fannie Mae announced that it will be adopting ANSI Measuring Standard in 2022. Appraisers will be required to use the Square Footage-Method for Calculating: ANSI® Z765-2021 (American National Standards Institute®) Measuring Standard for measuring, calculating, and reporting gross living area (GLA) and non-GLA areas of subject properties for appraisals requiring interior and exterior inspections with effective dates of April 1, 2022 or later for loans sold to Fannie Mae. For more information, watch this video and check out this fact sheet. Here are some items for appraisers to consider when using the ANSI standard Measurements...

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