News By Edition

Voxtur Chief Valuation Officer Ernie Durbin sat down with Valuation Review to discuss where the future of the appraisal profession lies.

Durbin presented an interesting analogy as to what role appraisers should be taking moving forward.

Read on for more of our conversation with Durbin.

McKissock Learning recently released a blog “How to Achieve Better Work-Life Balance: Tips for Appraisers.”

McKissock discussed the insights offered in the blog with Valuation Review.

Read on to learn more tips appraisers can take advantage of.

As the appraisal profession continues its march in 2022, what particular areas regarding appraisal demand will be most prominent?

Valuation Review caught up with CoreLogic’s George Paquette and Shawn Telford to get some answers on this, and other issues facing appraisers.

Read on to find out what they told us.

The Collateral Risk Network recently issued a statement responding to an appraiser’s email sent to Elizabeth Korver-Glenn, one of the nation’s foremost experts on bias and discrimination in the housing appraisal industry. The email revealed harsh characterizations that Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) said cannot and should not be dismissed as “unconscious bias.”

Desktop appraisals were officially offered in Desktop Underwriter (DU) for eligible transactions starting March 19. Fannie Mae recently released a series of updated FAQs which were submitted by appraisers, AMCs and lenders to help clear up any confusion.

The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization, reacted to news that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging seven individuals with conspiracy to defraud the United States and other crimes arising out of their promotion of fraudulent tax shelters involving syndicated conservation easements. Land Trust Alliance President/CEO Andrew Bowman offered his comments on the indictments.

A federal grand jury sitting in Atlanta returned a superseding indictment on Feb. 24 charging seven individuals, including two appraisers, with conspiracy to defraud the United States and other crimes arising out of their promotion of fraudulent tax shelters involving syndicated conservation easements dating back nearly two decades.

The conspiracy allegedly involved the sale of over $1.3 billion in fraudulent tax deductions.

Read on for more details.

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

The analysis showed a record in home price appreciation going back some 45 years.

Read on for all of the numbers.

U.S. house prices rose 17.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. House prices were up 3.3 percent compared to the third quarter of 2021.

CoreLogic, recently announced the appointment of Garret Gray to lead the company’s Protect Business Unit. This move unites all of CoreLogic’s global insurance data and technology solutions under the leadership of Gray and his team.

Each year, the average American household spends $2,471 on real-estate property taxes plus another $445 for residents of the 27 states with vehicle property taxes. With such high costs, it’s no surprise that more than $14 billion in property taxes go unpaid each year, according to the National Tax Lien Association.

A record 32.4 percent of Redfin.com users looked to move to a different metro area in January, according to a Redfin report. That’s up from the previous record of 31.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021 and much higher than before the pandemic, when only a quarter of homebuyers were interested in relocating.

GO Companies, LLC, a Columbus, Ohio-based holding company, announced the launch of its business and its intent to form a one-stop shop for homebuyers. This would include mortgages, real estate brokerage services, title services and more.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency requests input on its draft strategic plan. This outlines the agency’s priorities for the coming years as regulator of the Federal Home Loan Bank System and as regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Weighing the overall impact technology has on the appraisal profession requires a historical perspective, according to Bradford Technologies CEO Jeff Bradford. In his article, “The Digital Transformation of Appraisal Data,”

Bradford shares with us his thoughts on technology decades ago, and where things stand today.

Read on to learn more.

Small Business Development Group recently announced that one of its portfolio companies, Appraisal 3000, Inc., has launched a new software platform and website. Appraisal 3000 is a California-based real estate appraisal management company.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the delivery of the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) Action Plan to President Joe Biden.

The PAVE Action Plan is aimed squarely at dismantling racial bias in the home lending and appraisal process and promoting generational wealth creation through homeownership, according to a release from HUD.

Read on to learn more and hear what Appraisal Institute President Pledger (Jody) Bishop shared with Valuation Review.

Earlier, Valuation Review introduced to readers a technology to address the problem of home affordability and growing prices placing more financial burden on all homeowners.

We caught up with Haus CEO Jonathan McNulty who gave us more detail about his company’s new financial solution that upends the existing home financing market by leveraging blockchain.

Read on to learn more from our conversation.

The CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights report through December 2021 showed 3.3 percent of mortgages were delinquent by at least 30 days or more including those in foreclosure.

This represents a 2.4 percent decrease in the overall delinquency rate compared with December 2020.

Read on for more numbers.

With Freddie Mac already issuing approvals for desktop appraisals, and Fannie Mae following, Incenter Appraisal Management is preparing lenders and appraisers for a reality check.

It’s one thing to allow desktop appraisals for purchase and quite another to ensure there is no compromise on the quality and veracity of the reports.

Read on to learn more.

The U.S. homeownership rate climbed to 65.5 percent in 2020, up 1.3 percent from 2019 and the largest annual increase on record. But although more Americans are likely to own a home now than during any year following the Great Recession (the homeownership rate was 65.4 percent in 2010); Black Americans continue to face significant obstacles along the path to homeownership.