News By Edition

Valuation Review caught up with Alex Todak, owner and executive vice president of Kairos Appraisal Services, who shared his thoughts on the impact artificial intelligence (AI) will have within the appraisal profession.

Todak said he thinks of AI as having the potential to act as an assistant to the appraiser.

Read more from Part I of this exclusive feature.

At the 2023 Valuation Expo conference in Las Vegas, Fannie Mae’s Collateral Policy Senior Director Lyle Radke and Single-Family Collateral Risk Senior Manager Ken DeFeo shared thoughts about what the new UAD report will mean for appraisers, as well as other industry topics.

Valuation Review was at the conference and caught up with Radke and DeFeo for an exclusive story.

Read on to learn more.

Cindy Chance, CEO of the Appraisal Institute (AI), recently addressed region and chapter leaders over two days of presentations, breakout sessions and one-on-one meetings as part of the organization’s annual Chapter Leadership Program, AI announced in a release.

Valuation Review was at the 2023 Valuation Expo conference in Las Vegas.

Freddie Mac’s Collateral Credit Management/Credit Policy Risk Analytics Manager Sean Murphy and Single-Family Chief Appraiser Scott Reuter shared many key facts surrounding appraisal reports, modernization and the new UAD forms.

Read on for more information from this exclusive conference feature.

The Appraisal Institute of Canada recently announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer. She began work on Sept. 25 and will officially assume the role of CEO on Nov. 1.

In The Appraisal Foundation’s (TAF) October newsletter, President David Bunton confirmed the 2024 USPAP is now available for purchase in physical and digital formats.

The Appraisal Institute of Canada was on Parliament Hill recently to discuss the critical housing issues facing Canadians. This included a full day of meetings with members of Parliament.

JLL’s Value and Risk Advisory platform recently announced it hired a vice president in the commercial firm’s New York office.

He will focus on business development, particularly for the Environment & Property Condition group, where JLL continues to see heightened demand.

Read on for more information.

With July’s small pivot in annual home prices and given the early spring surges, the CoreLogic S&P Case-Shiller Index now shows a 6 percent cumulative increase in home prices for 2023.

And while some metro areas, particularly those in the West, are recovering from larger declines seen in 2022, appreciation across the country has generally been solid.

Read on to learn more from the report.

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey. It showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.49 percent.

As far as photos rounding out inspection and appraisal reports, many real estate professionals would argue those pictures can have an even higher value. Given that, restb.ai is teaming up with ATTOM to ensure their users’ real estate reports are as precise as they can possibly be.

CoreLogic’s Loan Performance Insights report revealed that while overall mortgage delinquencies crept up from June to July, they are still near an all-time low of 2.7 percent.

The foreclosure rate held steady in July for the 17th consecutive month, at 0.3 percent.

Read on to learn more.

With almost one third of the population saying that they’d prefer to live in a suburban area, the personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on “2023’s Best Small Cities in America.”

Finastra, a provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, and LoanLogics, a mortgage manufacturing and loan acquisition technology provider, recently announced LoanLogics’ IDEA OnDemand and LoanBeam tax solutions have been integrated with Finastra Mortgagebot, an all-in-one mortgage loan origination software for retail, wholesale and correspondent mortgage lending.

Valligent, a Veros Software company, enhanced its traditional appraisal quality control process with BiasCHECK, a technology-based risk analysis solution. It is integrated into Valligent’s appraisal review to quickly detect if an appraisal may be at risk for potential valuation bias or quality issues that need deeper analysis.

The Appraisal Subcommittee hosted its third public hearing on appraisal bias Nov. 1 at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Valuation Review attended this hearing virtually and has a complete recap of testimony and other important matters of discussion.

Read on for all of the details.

Valuation Review attended the 2023 ASA International Conference in New Orleans to sit in on the session “Repair and Alteration of Jewels and its Effect on Value” presented by Duncan Parker, vice president and jewelry specialist at Dupuis Fine Jewelry Auctioneers.

We caught up with Parker afterwards to discuss more appraising aspects of jewelry.

Read on for Part I of this exclusive conference story.

JLL’s Value and Risk Advisory platform recently announced that it has hired a director in Dallas and an executive director in Denver.

The duo will focus on office and mixed-use value and risk advisory assignments in their respective markets.

Read on for the identity of these company hires.

On Oct. 19, Freddie Mac announced it launched DPA One to help mortgage lenders quickly find and match borrowers to down payment assistance programs nationwide. DPA One aggregates and showcases down payment assistance programs in a single, standardized tool so lenders can quickly and efficiently access and compare programs to help make homes possible for more families.

Mortgage financing for homes that have, or will have, accessory dwelling units has been expanded by the Federal Housing Administration in an effort to address housing supply issues.

Zillow is launching “search by school,” a new feature on the Zillow app that allows home shoppers to discover homes within specific school attendance zones or school districts by using the search bar.

Valuation Review attended the 2023 ASA International Conference in New Orleans and caught up with panelists David Bunton, The Appraisal Foundation (TAF) president; Bob Morrison, TAF Board of Trustees member; and David Doering, Missouri Property Appraisal, Inc., president and a member of TAF’s Board of Trustees.

The panel gave attendees several updates on TAF and the purpose of its specific boards and organizations.

Read on to learn more.

Veteran attorney Peter Christensen, of Christensen Law/Valuation Legal, sat down with Valuation Review to address the new URAR appraisal forms.

He also discussed other interesting legal matters he has encountered representing appraisers over the years.

Read on for the full legal conversation.

At the 2023 ASA International Conference in New Orleans, Valuation Review attended the “State of the Jewelry Industry: Facts & Figures” session presented by Harold Dupuy, vice president of Strategic Analysis at Stuller, Inc.

Dupuy outlined many facets of the jewelry/valuation industry.

Read on for more of this exclusive conference story.

The Appraisal Institute recently announced the Appraiser Qualifications Board approved the certified residential real property credential path for the AI Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal program.

Stellar, a venture-backed technology-driven marketplace which solves maintenance at scale for the single-family rental market, recently announced the appointment of two executives. Their arrival is significant as the company has made strides toward achieving rapid growth.

The Solidifi Charitable Foundation recently announced that it has donated $100,000 to Covenant House Toronto. Covenant House is the largest agency in Canada serving youth who are homeless, trafficked or at risk.

At the 2023 ASA International Conference in New Orleans, Valuation Review spoke with Gary Trugman CPA/ABV, FASA, MVS, of Trugman Valuation Associates, which specializes in business valuation transactions.

Trugman also shared some insights regarding litigation matters he is involved with.

Read on for more of our talk with the Florida appraiser.

In Dustin Harris’ (“The Appraiser Coach”) blogs, “Good Cop, Bad Cop” and “Working for the End Goal,” the veteran appraiser discusses tactical conversations within the office.

He also addresses the need for grounded principles in moving forward with your business beyond the workdays.

Read on to learn more.

JLL’s Value and Risk Advisory platform recently announced it has director of its Los Angeles office.

She will focus on hotel value and risk advisory assignments and will report to Managing Director and Hotel National Practice Lead Charlotte Kang.

Read on to learn the identity of this new hire.

Recently, the National Fair Housing Alliance commended the Biden-Harris administration’s release of data demonstrating the impact of equitable federal initiatives on preserving and expanding fair and affordable housing.

First American Data & Analytics, a leading national provider of property-centric information, risk management and valuation solutions and a division of First American Financial Corp., released its September 2023 Home Price Index (HPI) report.

Valuation Review concludes its conversation with Valligent’s chief appraiser, Jeff Hogan,.

He gave us more insight regarding his successful diversity and inclusion programs for appraisal organizations.

Read on for the final installment of this feature.

Valuation Review reveals the 13 lucky winners from this year’s Voice of the Appraiser special report, including three participants who won subscriptions to our publication.

Read on to find out this year's winners.

Today is the day where a good scare is usually just around the corner. Earlier, we highlighted the McKissock Learning post “Terrifying Encounters from Real-Life Appraisers,” where the company illustrated a few scary propositions that came an appraiser’s way when examining certain properties.

Valuation Review now shares this bone-chilling tale again with you.

Read on for the "frightening" details.

Harry Davis & Co. announced its chief financial officer was recently awarded the prestigious “Rising Star” Award by the American Society of Appraisers. The award honors the accomplishments, leadership, community efforts, and milestones that young professionals have demonstrated in the appraisal profession.

CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM), a retail mortgage lender, has preemptively raised agency conforming loan limits ahead of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's decision in November.

Appraisal organizations continue to work diligently when it comes to the industry being more proactive when it comes to diversity and inclusion regarding its members.

Valuation Review sat down with Valligent’s chief appraiser, Jeff Hogan, who shared with us his perspectives on such an important topic.

Read on for Part I of this feature story.

U.S. housing value has surged, gaining more than $2.6 trillion in the past year.

New home construction has been the catalyst for housing market growth, according to an analysis from Zillow.

Read on for more from this report.

CoreLogic recently released its Home Price Index (HPI) and HPI Forecast for August.

The report shows that despite the HPI dropping to an 11-year low in the spring, momentum is now starting to build.

Read on to learn more.

Appraisal Institute (AI) leaders recently updated attendees of the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officers Fall Conference regarding progress and change at AI. Over three days of presentations and meetings, the AI president and CEO met with attendees and discussed ways to improve collaborative support to the real estate industry and the communities they together serve.

Roughly one in 15 (6.5 percent) homes for sale had a price drop during the four weeks ending Sept. 24, on average, up from 5.8 percent a month earlier, according to a new report from Redfin.