market trends - Appraisers Blogs

Appraisers Destroying Goliath’s Messaging

Guest Author — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 13:30:05 +0000

Goliath’s strength is in his messaging. It is appraisers who are destroying the message. The seeming destruction of the appraisal profession by the federal government, GSEs and lending stakeholders is a collective action problem. Appraisers are responding to new GSE and lending dictates with reactions based on our own personal well-being. Not enough people speak up or stand up to change the trajectory of the narrative. Or so it seems. Appraisal waivers, hybrid appraisals, automated valuation models, all based on the last 13 years of data collection by an entity I will call Goliath has created a paradoxical inversion of...

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First Known Racial Bias Court Case Against Appraiser

Dave Towne — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 12:30:52 +0000

It may mean that this will turn out to be the bellwether test case for other similar lawsuits against appraisers… Folks, a San Francisco, CA US District Court Judge has ruled that the bias suit against an appraiser can proceed. This link has the story: Judge finds plausible race discrimination in Black couple’s lawsuit over lowball appraisal | Courthouse News Service Appraiser Janette Miller with Miller and Perotti Real Estate Appraisers was hired by appraisal services company AMC Links to do the inspection in January 2020. The Austins’ lawsuit, filed this past December, claims Miller valued their home at $995,500...

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How Do You Time Adjust?

George Dell — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 12:30:43 +0000

I was able to sort time adjustment methods by data source used (mostly compiled, published reports) and by the analytic used… Time adjustments is a timely topic. Recent ski-jump rises in prices have been ramp-ant in many places. Valuemetrics.info provided a free, two-hour webinar on the topic, and we had almost exactly 1000 appraisers sign up. (Although many did not show – free, you know.) Prior to the webinar, I asked some reviewers about how appraisers were handling the price changes. Also, my friend Steve Smith raised the question on his National Appraisers Forum (NAF) to see what sources they are using to support time...

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FHA Temporary Partial Waiver

Dave Towne — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 12:30:42 +0000

FHA Appraisers, on April 26, 2021, FHA issued this Temporary Partial Waiver, which is active for one year. This temporary partial waiver is effective for the 12-month period between April 26, 2021, and April 26, 2022. It is found in FHA INFO #21-25 April 27, 2021: Temporary Partial Waiver of the requirements of the single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 Section II.D.4.c.iii.(F)(2) Required Analysis and Reporting that the Appraiser must include, analyze and report a minimum of two active listings or pending sales on the appraisal grid (in addition to at least three recently settled sales) in an Increasing Market...

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Reality vs Positivity

Guest Author — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:30:46 +0000

Read any sales training publication and you will learn about positivity and how it helps you succeed. For the most part, this is true. But what happens when reality sets in? Positivity: Many appraisers have praised the decision by Fannie Mae to eliminate the 1004MC. No question, it is a flawed form, but every software vendor allows us to complete the form with the push of a button. This can be done in most MLS systems as well. The form shows the number of sales in the past 90 days and the number of current active listings. With enough data,...

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Bye-bye 1004MC, Hello Analysis

Rachel Massey, SRA — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 12:30:34 +0000

On July 31, 2018, at the Appraisal Institute Annual Conference, Fannie Mae announced the end of the 1004MC. News quickly spread among the appraisal blogosphere, and on August 7, 2018, the new Selling Guide showed that the 1004MC was no longer required. Rejoicing was heard throughout the land. Although the 1004MC is no longer required by Fannie Mae, the appraiser still needs to support their opinion of market trends, supply and demand, and marketing time. The exact verbiage found in the 8/7/18 updated Selling Guide is: The appraiser’s analysis of a property must take into consideration all factors that affect...

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Crystal Ball & PFA Techniques

Dave Towne — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 12:30:19 +0000

PFA figures & opaque crystal balls don’t work when reporting market trends! Nor does the MC Form! Appraisers, by now you’ve heard that FNMA finally has decided that their 1004MC form is basically worthless. That form is no longer required in appraisal reports for properties sold to FNMA, as of August 7, 2018. poorly designed form which never has reported accurate trends…However, sidekicks in mortgage lending have not come to the same conclusion… yet. Hopefully, in short time, they will also remove the MC ‘inclusion’ requirement in reports of this awful, poorly designed form which never has reported accurate trends – despite the...

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Graphing Using Spreadsheet – Including Pendings

Dave Towne — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 12:30:13 +0000

Pendings can reveal market trends, turns and current activity… Appraisers, How many of you use visual graphs in your reports to demonstrate sales (and Pending) trend data? This can be a very important tool to convince your clients that you really have a good understanding of current valuation issues. I am indebted to David Braun, Patrick Egger, Steve Smith, George Dell, Anthony Young and Joe Lynch (among others) for their presentations about this key feature we can utilize. Frankly, using spreadsheets and their built-in graphing functions is something every appraiser should learn. I bring this up because an appraiser peer was...

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Rules Check Software

Dave Towne — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 13:30:00 +0000

If the ‘story’ can be told using 3 comps, why are 4 or more really necessary? Folks, As you are probably aware, all of our appraisal reports receive an initial examination electronically. There are a number of businesses which have written and provide to the industry various types of ‘rules check software.’ This actually began in the early 1980’s by the appraisal computer software pioneers who wrote programs to ‘check’ reports for inconsistencies. I just learned about one such ‘rules check’ company, and the results they’ve seen using their software – below. They even admit to users that the users can ‘mine’ reports...

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Fannie Mae Waiving Appraisals

Dave Towne — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 12:30:23 +0000

Property Inspection Waiver, getting back to the old days of fogging a mirror… Appraisers, Effective 12/10/16, FNMA will have a new program in place which will allow LENDERS to waive appraisals on certain refi’s, if it is offered through the automated Desktop Underwriter (DU) loan documentation process. See the attached PDF. Key points from the PDF (emphasis mine): Property inspection waiver (PIW) is an offer to waive the appraisal for certain refinance transactions. Property Inspection Waiver offers are issued through Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) using Fannie Mae’s database of more than 20 million appraisal reports in combination with proprietary analytics from...

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Incorrect 1004MC Form Trend Reporting

Dave Towne — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 13:30:36 +0000

Appraisers, I have ‘come in contact with’ an appraisal report, produced by a Certified appraiser and its Licensed Trainee – working in the area near my office. It’s clear to me that these two appraisers do not understand trend reporting that this form indicates. By the way, I’m no great fan of the MC form. However, since we are required to use it, we better darn well learn to use it properly. Report what the trends on it show and not something obtained from elsewhere, sometimes called “PFA.” If we don’t, or choose to ignore what the form shows, then the ENTIRE...

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The “Property Prices Reach All Time High” Hype

Dave Towne — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 12:30:25 +0000

“Property Prices Reach an All-Time High” Oh really? The subject line is a press release headline put out by a national sales organization. Do you buy into the hype, or do you actually do local comparable property market research to verify trends? I just completed an appraisal on a property I appraised 2 years ago. I did a 5 year market study on comparables then, and found the market for that type of property had been DECLINING at that time. I did another 5 year market study on this same property this time around. And guess what? The property values for this type...

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The Network Letter RE CU Program

VaCAP Board — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 13:30:12 +0000

Network of State Appraisal Orgainzation’s letter to FHFA Director Watt Regarding Fannie Mae Collateral Underwriter (CU) Program For over the past couple of months, VaCAP has participated with 18 other State Appraiser Coalitions in drafting an unified response to Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter Program. Their letter to FHFA Director Watt briefly outlines their concerns, offers recommended solutions, as well as asking for a meeting to discuss the issue for the benefit of all vested parties. Please take a few minutes to peruse the letter below: Dear Director Watt: On behalf of the independent state professional appraiser organizations signing below, I...

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What’s Going on With Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter?

AppraisersBlogs — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 13:30:16 +0000

The recent announcement that Fannie Mae will expose its sellers to the Collateral Underwriter™ (CU™) appraisal review tool has appraisers wondering if the process will affect their current and future appraisals and even present problems for past appraisals. Well, from the appraiser perspective, the short answer is you probably won’t notice much difference when this change takes place in January 2015. Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter appraisal review process is not a new concept. This is the same tool that Fannie Mae has been using internally to review appraisals submitted to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal® (UCDP®). Receiving the appraisals as...

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FHA Issues Draft of New Appraisal Requirements

AppraisersBlogs — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 12:30:41 +0000

The Federal Housing Administration on July 31 issued drafts of four new appraiser policy documents that it plans to add to its Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook. The FHA is seeking feedback before the documents are finalized. The draft documents relate to FHA appraiser eligibility requirements and the application process, as well appraiser responsibilities and compliance actions, eligibility guidelines for appraisers performing appraisals and reporting results, data delivery requirements related to the FHA Uniform Appraisal Dataset and instructions to help appraisers accurately complete FHA appraiser forms. FHA developed the documents in an effort to provide appraisers a more consistent approach to...

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Commonly Encountered USPAP Violations

AppraisersBlogs — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 12:30:49 +0000

USPAP Violations… This is a list of USPAP violations most commonly encountered by the Texas Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board’s staff appraiser-investigators when investigating complaints filed with the Board. This list of violations is given for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or instructions on how to properly comply with USPAP or properly complete an appraisal assignment. Most Commonly Encountered USPAP Violations: Sales Comparison Selection of Comparable Properties. Failing to select and/or support the selection of comparable sales using recognized methods and techniques. Examples include: Leaving the subject’s neighborhood when sales data is readily available in the immediate neighborhood; Searching by...

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State of the Appraisal Profession & Residential Market Overview

AppraisersBlogs — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 12:30:48 +0000

In March, I once again traveled to Modesto, CA, and attended the Annual Spring Conference of the Appraisal Institute’s Northern California Chapter. This month, I will share some useful and interesting information from the presentations. The conference focuses on the California market, but many of the presenters also covered topics related to the national market. The first session was “State of the Appraisal Profession”; the speaker was Lance Coyle, MAI, and SRA who is national president-elect of the Appraisal Institute. He started by giving a brief history of the profession and pointed out that significant changes came to the profession...

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How to Identify a Bubble or Bust Housing Market

AppraisersBlogs — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 12:30:10 +0000

Bubble or bust? The nation’s home prices continue to climb, with some cities posting double-digit annual growth rates during 2012–13. While the continued economic recovery seems to trend in a positive direction, consumers, appraisers and other market participants should be on high alert for red flags that could signal the possibility of another housing bubble in the near future. How can appraisers tell if the current housing market is “bubble” or “bust”? Here is some guidance from the Appraisal Institute’s “Guide Note 12: Analyzing Market Trends.” Appraisers should be able to spot the symptoms of a changing market. Appraisers and...

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Appraisers Feeling the Heat as Housing Market Warms Up

AppraisersBlogs — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 12:30:43 +0000

Appraisers will always be key players in the real estate housing market’s blame game no matter what the market is doing. Appraisals were difficult to do after the housing market collapse of 2007 because of the lack of recently sold comparables that they had available to determine the property’s true value. Now that the Orlando real estate housing market is hot again, appraisers say that it doesn’t make their job of valuating a property an easier. Many Orlando realtors complain that appraisals often complicate real estate deals by either forcing the sellers to lower their price or by making buyers...

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Differences Between Neighborhood and Market Areas & Analysis

AppraisersBlogs — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:30:33 +0000

Neighborhood is broad and general in nature… When examining appraisal reports, it is commonly noted that the Neighborhood section of the 1004 appraisal report contains data for sales of properties that are comparable and competing to the subject, rather than for sales of all homes of the same category (i.e., single family detached). Professional appraisal reference works, such as Appraising Residential Properties, 4th Edition (published by Appraisal Institute) address the differences between a “neighborhood” and a “market area.” Further, various Fannie Mae selling guides and announcements, and the HUD 4150.2 handbook contain guidance for appraisers regarding the analysis of neighborhood...

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