News By Edition

Valuation Review reached out to appraiser Matt Simmons, who in his article “Don’t Start Driving Until You Know Where You’re Going,” shared some of the ignored basics for appraisal success.

“Flashy” upgrades to one’s skills won’t matter if the foundation of work isn’t solid, he points out.

Read on to learn more of what Simmons had to say.

Valuation Review reached out to Mark Buhler, a certified residential real estate appraiser who shared views from his article “Five Common Issues Found in Appraisal Reports.”

Buhler highlighted some of the levels where reports are heavily scrutinized.

Read on for more of what he had to say.

Attendees at the 2022 National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in Orlando, Fla., were treated to a special keynote speaker.

NBA Hall-of-Famer and successful businessman Rick Barry shared his keys to success.

Read on to learn what Barry shared with the audience.

Valuation Review attended this year’s National Association of Appraisers Annual Conference & Trade Show in South Carolina.

Josh Walitt, veteran appraiser and principal consultant of Walitt Solutions, was one of the presenters giving a very detailed presentation on some issues facing appraisers.

Read on to learn about the issues Walitt addressed.

ValueLink Software, a provider of valuation management technology, recently announced it offers mortgage lenders automated ordering of Clear Capital's Collateral Desktop Analysis (CDA) through its appraisal management platform.

ValueLink customers can set up automated ordering rules which allow lenders to manage the geographic regions and volume of their CDA orders.

Read on to learn more.

This month’s installment from Dustin Harris (“The Appraiser Coach”) deals with appraisers reaching out for some assistance. In his blog “What to Do When Hiring a Trainee,”

Harris outlines specific steps appraisers should take when looking to bring someone into their business.

Read on for more thoughts.

The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) announces the selection of LaVaughn Henry as its keynote speaker for the 2022 ASA International Conference, Sept. 10-12 in Tampa, Fla., and virtually. Henry is a former senior economist for the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President (the White House), and the senior regional officer and vice president for the Federal Reserve Branch in Cincinnati.

Valcre, the commercial real estate industry’s appraisal platform, recently announced Kidder Mathews, a West Coast independent commercial real estate firm, joined its growing network of enterprise and corporate client partners. In the past two years, valuation professionals have experienced surging demand for commercial real estate appraisal services following the market disruptions induced by the pandemic.

According to ATTOM’s second-quarter vacant property and zombie foreclosure report, 1.3 million residential properties sit vacant. That represents 1.3 percent, or one in 76 homes, across the nation.

Sales of luxury homes fell 17.8 percent year-over-year during the three months ending April 30, the largest drop since the onset of the pandemic, according to Redfin. By comparison, sales of non-luxury homes fell 5.4 percent.

Rising inflation and higher mortgage rates are slowing traffic of prospective homebuyers and putting a damper on builder sentiment, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

In a troubling sign for the housing market, builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes posted its sixth straight monthly decline in June, falling two points to 67.

Read on to learn more.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded $125,000 to support fair housing organizations working to help end housing discrimination. These funds are provided through the Department’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

Equity Valuation Partners (EVP), a provider of home value services, valuation tools and property value data for the real estate industry, recently announced the launch of Inhabet.

This is a one-stop platform empowering lenders to generate a compliant estimate of value for residential and commercial real estate properties.

Read on for more information.

A new article from Fannie Mae indicated that leveraging technologies, data, and analytics to enhance the management of collateral risk is making the process more efficient for lenders, borrowers, appraisers and secondary-market investors.

Valuation Review spoke with Dean Kelker, senior vice president and chief risk officer for SingleSource, a Pennsylvania-based real estate services company offering valuation services, to discuss how appraisal modernization is impacting home lenders, and other issues raised in the Fannie Mae report.

Read on for more of our conversation with Kelker.

Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) can be the solution needed to identify potential racial bias in home appraisals, according to a study released by Veros Real Estate Solutions.

In the past several years, discussions around potential bias or discrimination in housing markets have been reignited with a focus on the property valuation process, beginning specifically with appraisals and extending to questions about potential algorithmic bias in AVMs.

Read on to learn more.

The CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights report for March 2022 showed 2.7 percent of mortgages were delinquent by at least 30 days or more including those in foreclosure.

This represents a 2.2-percentage point decrease in the overall delinquency rate compared with March 2021.

Read on to learn more from this report.

Reggora is offering a no-cost benchmark evaluation to help lenders improve their appraisal operations and performance. Statistics from the STRATMOR Group in a study commissioned by Reggora showed 12.3 percent of closings are delayed because of the appraisal, and part of the delay is within a lender’s control.

The assessment of millions of properties by government officials and property appraisers in the U.S. will be hugely improved and streamlined following a powerful partnership. Location intelligence and aerial imagery firm, Nearmap, and America's provider of computer assisted mass appraisals for properties, Tyler Technologies, are forming the partnership.

As home prices continue to break records, a panel of housing experts and economists surveyed by Zillow does not believe the market is in a bubble.

The latest Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey polled more than 100 experts from academia, government and the private sector to gather their opinions on the state of the housing market and future growth, inflation forecasts and recession risks.

Read on for more from this report.

Boston National Title Agency recently announced a strategic alliance with CLARIFIRE, a workflow automation and seamless servicing company.

Servicers already rely on CLARIFIRE to streamline workflow and workout processes.

Read on for more information about this collaborative effort.

Appraisal Logistics, a provider of appraisal management technology and compliance solutions for the residential/commercial mortgage industry, announced that Nicholas Turansky has joined the company as national account director.

Anthony Savala has joined the company, as well, serving as senior vice president of sales.

Read on for more information about these appointments.