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News By Edition
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Valuation Review Edition
January 6, 2014
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Rising home values create new appraisal needs
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Scott Richardson from ISGN makes the case for lenders to consider alternative valuation products while still leveraging the knowledge and expertise of certified appraisers.
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Appraisal Defensibility
Posted Date: Thursday, December 5, 2013
Mark Stockton from Valuation Research LLC offers advice for defending appraisers’ value conclusions.
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HUD issues qualified mortgage final rule
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2013
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its final rule on Dec. 11 regarding what constitutes a “qualified mortgage” (QM) as mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act.
The final rule, which takes effect Jan. 10, 2014, specifies the types of mortgages that can be insured, guaranteed or administered by the HUD.
The QM provisions have been established to protect the housing market by ensuring that potential homebuyers can fulfill their mortgage payment obligations. The lax lending restrictions in place pre-housing crash have been singled out as a main contributor to the explosion of defaults and foreclosures seen in the market in the past several years.
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The FHA announces it will reduce some home-mortgage loans that it guarantees
Posted Date: Thursday, December 12, 2013
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has announced that it will reduce the size of some home-mortgage loans that it will guarantee moving forward, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The FHA insures lenders against defaults on loans made that conform to the agency’s standards. Taking effect Jan. 1, 2014, the FHA will drop the maximum size of home loans that it guarantees in 650 counties across the nation.
The new national-ceiling loan limit for high-cost areas, such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, will drop from $729,750 to $625,500.
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Exceptions to qualified mortgage standards will be made, bank executives say
Posted Date: Monday, December 9, 2013
It appears that some banks will be willing to overlook some of the upcoming qualified mortgage (QM) regulations that aim to limit the risk associated with mortgage lending by tightening requirements for securing a loan, the Wall Street Journal reported.
While lending executives said earlier this year that they would abide by the new regulations, some are now stating that certain exceptions will likely be made for wealthy clientele.
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Index shows healthiest U.S. markets concentrated in the West
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Want to find the nation’s top housing markets? Go West.
Zillow, an online real estate database and provider of market analytics, released its Market Health Index for October on Dec. 13. The index, which is formed using ten different metrics of market health, showed that the healthiest U.S. markets were heavily concentrated in California and other Western states.
The index works to assess specific housing markets with other comparable markets nationwide. The results are then generated on ZIP code, neighborhood, city, county, metro and state levels.
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Loans originated before the recession will face higher payments, lead to delinquencies, report shows
Posted Date: Thursday, December 12, 2013
Lender Processing Services, a provider of analytics, technology solutions and services to mortgage lenders, servicers and investors, has released data from its October Mortgage Monitor. The report shows that some mortgage loans originated between 2004 and 2006 are set to begin amortizing over the next several years, which could lead to higher payments and more delinquencies. Keep reading to see the full details.
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Final details on Dodd-Frank rule for high-priced mortgage loan appraisals
Posted Date: Monday, December 16, 2013
All mortgages secured by manufactured homes will be exempt from Dodd-Frank’s appraisal requirements for higher-priced mortgage loans (HPML) until July 2015 under final rules issued by six federal agencies. The final rules, released on Dec. 12, create exemptions from rules issued earlier this year that go into effect on Jan. 18, 2014.
Under the Dodd-Frank Act, closed-end mortgage loans are considered to be higher-priced if they are secured by a consumer’s home and have interest rates above a certain threshold. Dodd-Frank requires creditors to obtain a written appraisal based on a physical visit of the home’s interior before making these loans.
In January, six agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, finalized a rule implementing Dodd-Frank’s appraisal requirements for HPMLs. The rule included certain exemptions. In addition to those exemptions, proposed rules released for comment on July 10 sought to exempt three types of HMPLs from Dodd-Frank’s appraisal requirements: loans of $25,000 or less; certain “streamlined” refinancings; and certain loans secured by manufactured housing.
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The Appraisal Standards Board issues new set of USPAP Q&As (pt.2)
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2013
The Appraisal Foundation’s Appraisal Standards Board has issued a new set of USPAP Q&As to state and territory appraisal regulators to inform them of the ASB responses to questions raised by regulators and individuals; to illustrate the applicability of USPAP in specific situations; and to offer advice from the ASB for the resolution of appraisal issues and problems.
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The Appraisal Standards Board issues new set of USPAP Q&As (pt.1)
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2013
The Appraisal Foundation’s Appraisal Standards Board has issued a new set of USPAP Q&As to state and territory appraisal regulators to inform them of the ASB responses to questions raised by regulators and individuals; to illustrate the applicability of USPAP in specific situations; and to offer advice from the ASB for the resolution of appraisal issues and problems.
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Index shows increased builder confidence
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2013
The National Association of Home Builders/ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which measures homebuilder confidence for newly built, single-family homes, improved in December. Keep reading to see the full results.
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Appraisers take stage in Colorado retail property value dispute
Posted Date: Monday, December 16, 2013
Appraisers took center stage in a Longmont, Colo., retail property controversy last week. The property in question is a Dillard’s. The Longmont Urban Renewal Authority (LURA) has filed to condemn the property to initiate a redevelopment and has valued the property at $3 million. The Dillard’s has other plans in mind, valuing the property at $6 million.
Larry Stark, president of National Valuation Consultants, took to the stand and noted the importance in not factoring in the potential of the redevelopment deal nor recent economic ups and downs. According to the Times Call, Stark “limited himself to recent sales comparisons -- no more than two or three years -- involving businesses of a similar size, type and setting. In a separate analysis, he compared lease properties to see what kind of income an investor could expect from the property.”
Stark arrived at $6.3 million.
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Quick tips for easing appraiser, real estate industry relations
Posted Date: Monday, December 16, 2013
The appraiser, real estate agent relationship is often an uneasy one. The lack of true understanding of the appraisal process creates this unease when values do not arrive where the real estate agent was thinking. They are killing our deals! is often the sentiment following such an issue. Read on to see what one appraisal professional said would help to quell some of the misunderstandings out there.
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EDR adds appraisal product manager to Lender Services Group
Posted Date: Monday, December 16, 2013
EDR, a national provider of data, applications and insight for the property due diligence industry, announced the hiring of an appraisal product manager for its Lender Services Group. This person will be responsible for the development and execution of product strategy as it is related to appraisal management services available through the EDR Lender Portal.
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ASA: How to be a Successful and Effective Expert Witness coming this March
Posted Date: Monday, December 16, 2013
The American Society of Appraisers is hosting a new conference, How to be a Successful and Effective Expert Witness, March 5 and 6. The ASA said demand for the event stems from a growing need for valuation professionals to be able to effectively communicate and present conclusions in courts of law. Read on for more details about the event.
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Platinum Data hires new executive to bolster valuation analytics
Posted Date: Thursday, December 12, 2013
Platinum Data Solutions, a provider of collateral valuation and risk assessment technologies, has announced the hiring of a new company senior vice president of valuation analytics. The new hire will be charged with building the company’s valuation analytics channel. Keep reading to find out more.
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Treasury calls out certain banks to help curb foreclosures
Posted Date: Thursday, December 12, 2013
The Obama administration has called out several U.S. banks for not participating fully in a government anti-foreclosure program aimed at helping individuals keep their homes, Reuters reported on Dec. 9.
The amount of homeowners underwater (who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth) is down more than 40 percent from its high point. And even though foreclosures are down from recent years, figures are still historically elevated and more work needs to be done to continue to stabilize the market.
Because of this, the U.S. Treasury has challenged some banks who have not embraced the government-driven Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which provides financial incentives to mortgage servicers who restructure struggling homeowners’ loan payments to make them more affordable, and thus, allow more homeowners keep their property.
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Fed indicates that taper is unlikely in 2013
Posted Date: Thursday, December 12, 2013
Federal Reserve officials have indicated that they are unlikely to begin to cut back, or taper, their bond-buying practices until next year, The New York Times has reported.
The Fed’s bond purchases are meant to act as a stimulus to the economy as a whole, but also play a major role in minimizing mortgage rates.
Even though most experts already expected the Fed to wait to taper until 2014, recent statements from Fed officials have made it apparent that a taper is unlikely for this year.
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Foreclosures down on monthly, yearly basis, report finds
Posted Date: Monday, December 9, 2013
CoreLogic, a residential property information, analytics and services provider, released its October National Foreclosure Report. The report provides data on national foreclosure inventory and completed U.S. foreclosures. The report shows that the number of October foreclosures is down on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis. Continue reading to see the results.
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The Appraisal Standards Board answers questions regarding USPAP compliance
Posted Date: Monday, December 9, 2013
The Appraisal Foundation’s Appraisal Standards Board, which develops, interprets and amends the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, has issued a series of Q&As to help illustrate the application of USPAP in specific situations. The latest Q&A regards “Subject Property Data and Confidentiality” as it pertains to the ETHICS RULE.
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New housing data looks promising, yet unconvincing, experts say
Posted Date: Monday, December 9, 2013
New housing data has some industry experts pointing to the old maxim, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
The U.S. Census Bureau released data on Dec. 4 that indicated contracts to sell newly built homes increased by over 25 percent in October from the month before to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000. These figures are in line with the spike in growth seen last spring when the market for new homes was thriving, the Wall Street Journal reported.
While the supposed surge in the new-home market would appear to be a boon for the market as a whole, some economists, home builders and analysts caution that the figures might be misleading.
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2013 housing trends can help predict the market for 2014
Posted Date: Monday, December 9, 2013
Declining interest rates, inventory and increasing home values were the prevailing trends seen in the nation’s housing market in 2013. And as it always helps to look back to understand future market tendencies, 2013 can serve as a barometer for how the housing market might play out in the coming year.
According to realtor.com, there are five trends to look out for in 2014.
1. Inventory should gradually stabilize and return to traditional seasonal levels
In 2013, buyer demand increased as more individuals rebounded from the financial setbacks caused by the Great Recession. However, many sellers waited for further price increases on their homes and additional evidence of a stabilized market before putting their homes up for sale. As a result, low inventory caused a frenzy of activity as willing buyers jockeyed to acquire the limited amount of available homes.
As the year comes to an end, inventory is approximately the same as one year ago; however, homes are selling faster than in 2012, and the median age of inventory is down by 11 percent. In 2014, inventory is expected to increase as more buyers look to capitalize on their increased home values, bringing back inventory levels to more traditional levels in the process.
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Home prices continue to increase, index shows
Posted Date: Thursday, December 5, 2013
CoreLogic, a residential property information, analytics and services provider, has released its October CoreLogic Home Price Index report, which shows that home prices increased slightly in October. Read on for more details.
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Report shows home price growth, decline in home sales for October
Posted Date: Thursday, December 5, 2013
DataQuick, a provider of real estate information solutions powered by data and analytics, announced in its monthly Property Intelligence Report that home price growth increased in all reported markets for the second month in a row. However, rapid price appreciation comes at a price, as total home sales decreased in most markets in October. Keep reading to see the full results.
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Webinar to provide 2014 regulatory outlook
Posted Date: Thursday, December 5, 2013
The legal publications at October Research LLC have teamed up to host a 90-minute federal regulatory outlook webinar for mortgage, title insurance and settlement services professionals. Regulatory Outlook 2014: Compliance, Enforcement and Pressure Points airs Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. ET. This in-depth training features two top compliance attorneys who will educate participants on significant regulations impacting the industry in 2014.
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New lending restrictions would have cut defaults in half, report shows
Posted Date: Thursday, December 5, 2013
There is a reason why people use the phrase, “Hindsight is 20/20.”
Analysis from Goldman Sachs economists shows that nearly half of all mortgage defaults seen in the aftermath of the housing collapse could have been prevented by the qualified mortgage (QM) regulations set to take effect in January, the Wall Street Journal reported. However, a quarter of loans that didn’t default would have been unlikely to have been made if the upcoming regulations were in place before the crash.
For good and for bad, it looks like the forthcoming lending regulations are going to restrict the number of individuals who qualify for mortgage loans in the near future.
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