News By Edition

At the 2025 National Association of Appraisers’ (NAA) Appraiser’s Conference & Trade Show, JoAnn Apostol, of Deer Creek Appraisals, received NAA’s coveted “Appraiser of the Year” award.

Valuation Review caught up with Apostol following the conference for her thoughts on receiving the award, as well as other topics of note for all appraisers.

Read Part I of our interview with Apostol.

At the 2025 National Association of Appraisers’ Appraiser’s Conference and Trade Show, panelists Craig Capilla, Franklin, Greenswag, Channon & Capilla, LLC and Dustin Harris (“The Appraiser Coach”) spoke on “Appraisers and Social Media: Navigating Ethical Responsibilities and Common Misconceptions.”

Valuation Review spoke with Capilla and Harris following the conference for their thoughts on what they shared with the attendees.

Read on for more social media precautions appraisers should know.

At the 2025 National Association of Appraisers’ Appraiser’s Conference & Trade Show, Nationwide Appraisal Network Chief Appraiser Bill Waltenbaugh spoke on the topic of “Real World Applications of AI in Appraisals.”

Valuation Review conducted a post-conference interview with Waltenbaugh who shared with us what he presented.

Read on for the full conversation with the chief appraiser.

At the 2025 National Association of Appraisers’ Appraiser’s Conference & Trade Show (ACTS), panelists Jeff Bradford, president/CEO of Bradford Technologies, a la mode’s Joel Baker and AIVRE founder and CEO Jake Lew presented “Navigating the New Appraisal Report.”

Valuation Review caught up with Lew following the conference for more insights as to what he shared with ACTS attendees. 

Read on for more information about how appraisers can tackle the new reports.

For this month’s appraisal tips from Dustin Harris, “The Appraiser Coach,” Harris offered sound advice from his blog posts.

Appraisal suggestions come from “Taking Time to Recharge” and “The One Thing You Can Control.”

Read on for more helpful tips from Harris.

Class Valuation recently announced the expansion of its national sales team with the appointment of two individuals.

Newmark recently announced the appointment of a new senior managing director and Valuation & Advisory market leader for the New England region. He will oversee operations across Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont from the firm’s Boston office.

Texas new home sales slipped in three of its four largest markets in March and took longer to sell, according to the newest and recently released monthly Texas New Home Sales Report from HomesUSA.com.

Company founder and CEO Ben Caballero offered his perspectives.

Read on to learn more.

BBG Managing Director and Market Leader Anthony Bonet reached out to Valuation Review to share thoughts from his article “Understanding the FEMA 50 percent Rule: What Property Owners and Real Estate Professionals Need to Know.”

Bonet spoke to what those owners need to understand, especially in flood-prone areas.

Read on to learn more.

Aivre, a real estate appraisal software company, has cut the time it takes to complete an appraisal by more than half, thanks to its integration with Restb.ai's computer vision and image recognition technology.

Every professional constantly looks for that “edge” that keeps their businesses thriving. Appraisers can expand upon their profits in a variety of ways.

Valuation Review's in-depth report "Expanding Your Appraisal Business" can help with that goal.

Read on to learn what industry experts are saying for ways to grow your appraisal business.

Part of the Expanding Your Appraisal Business report.

Valuation Review recently sat down with Certified Residential Appraiser Becky Johnson, of Accurate Appraisals of North Carolina.

Johnson shared her experiences along the road to appraising that included learning not to take “no” for an answer.

Read Part I of our conversation with Johnson.

ServiceLink recently announced enhancements to its EXOS Close technology.

This will aim to provide more flexibility for lenders and borrowers to schedule their closings in real-time.

Read on for more details.

The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) recently announced the planned retirement of Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Stockman. ASFMRA has appointed a task force to oversee the search for Stockman’s replacement.

Dart Appraisal recently launched its new Portfolio AVM solution. Built with speed, accuracy and scale in mind, Portfolio AVM is ideal for lenders who service loans they originate and servicers who purchase from the original lending institution.

On April 3, Valuation Review reported that House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), and Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Chairman Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), released a joint statement about the phasing out of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program.  But as of May 1, VA rescinded its Home Retention Waterfall and stopped accepting VASP submissions.

International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) Assessment Advisor and National Instructor Shannon Hiss spoke at the 2025 Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials (AARO) conference.

Valuation Review caught up with Hiss following the virtual event to share with our readers what was presented to AARO attendees about IAAO and how the organization assists with appraisers continuing to achieve fair and equitable property valuations.

Read on for the full conversation.

Brian Carter, speaker and owner of Optymedia, will be a featured speaker at the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) June 16-18 in Pittsburgh.

Carter will discuss artificial intelligence (AI) in housing and leadership, and NS3 attendees will leave the presentation with concrete steps to implement AI solutions that deliver measurable results.

Read on for a few more samples of what Carter will tell the audience, as well as information as to how you can attend this year's NS3 in Pittsburgh.

Valbridge Property Advisors recently announced the election of four professionals to its Board of Directors.

They were officially elected at the Valbridge Property Advisors’ National Meeting.

Read on to learn their identities.

A new Restb.ai white paper analyzes more than 1,200 real estate appraisals to reveal over $27 billion in potential hidden financial risk. This risk is tied to flawed property condition and quality adjustments – exposing a major blind spot in the real estate and mortgage ecosystem.

Velox Valuations recently announced the launch of its newest franchised business serving the greater Jacksonville area and Florida’s First Coast.

Clear Capital, the national real estate analytics, data solutions and valuation technology company, recently announced the launch of its data solutions business, PropertyNova.

Appraiser safety is a topic not often discussed, but one that should be uppermost on the minds of those who walk into homes and across properties for evaluation purposes.

Valuation Review talked to Zach Wulf, a Certified Residential appraiser and owner of Wulf Appraisal Corp, to highlight the important matter of appraiser safety.

Read on for the full conversation with Wulf.

Appraisal Institute (AI) President Paula Konikoff released a statement on AI’s LinkedIn page regarding the recent allegations made against Craig Steinley, the former president and current vice president of the appraisal organization, as reported by The New York Times.

Konikoff wrote that Steinley has told AI’s Board of Directors that he has decided to “step away.” 

Read on for the full statement.

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc recently released its May 2025 Mortgage Monitor Report.

The analysis delved into the rising share of first-time and Gen Z homebuyer participation in the mortgage market.

Read on for more home purchasing numbers from ICE.

Home shoppers hoping to buy their first home may be in for quite the financial surprise.

While the typical starter home nationwide is worth $192,514, there are more than 230 cities where a starter home comes with a price tag of $1 million or more, a new Zillow analysis reveals.

Read on to learn more.

Mortgage Cadence, an Accenture Company, recently announced the appointment of a chief information officer.

AppraisalVision, the mortgage industry’s appraisal technology platform, recently announced its transformation into the first fully autonomous appraisal execution system through an exclusive partnership with Alpha7X, a next-generation AI agent platform.

President Donald Trump’s recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year 2026 include cutting $33.6 billion in funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including 43 percent of grant funding for HUD’s rental assistance programs including public housing, Section 8 assistance, housing for the elderly and housing for persons with disabilities.

A little over a month ago, an ex-employee of the Appraisal Institute (AI) revealed in a lawsuit that misreporting of student qualifying and continuing education test scores took place at the organization.

But now, accusations have escalated to sexual harassment claims against AI’s former president and current vice president, as reported by The New York Times.   

Read on for more details and a response from AI.

Valuation Review concludes its conversation with the National Association of Appraisers’ 2025 “Appraiser of the Year” JoAnn Apostol.

In Part II of this feature story, Apostol shares more insights into appraising, as well as her thoughts from a business owner’s perspective.

Read on for the conclusion to this story.

Cotality recently released its latest findings on the housing and mortgage markets.

While the spring homebuying season is in full swing, homebuying activity continues to be challenged by elevated and volatile mortgage rates as well as affordability challenges.

Read on to learn more.

From The Appraisal Foundation’s (TAF) May newsletter, the State Harmonization Task Force project was announced, with TAF President Kelly Davids sharing more May highlights with appraisers.

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) signed an agreement with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to license ICE Mortgage Technology’s MSP loan servicing system, allowing UWM to bring its mortgage servicing operations in-house.

In the latest episode of the “Keys to Real Estate”  podcast titled “AI Without the Jargon: A Mindset for the Future” from the series, author and futurist Brian Carter shared insight with October Research Chief Knowledge Officer Mary Schuster on the subject matter of artificial intelligence, while offering listeners some examples of what National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) attendees will hear during his presentation at the 21^st annual NS3 event to be held in Pittsburgh, Pa. June 16-18.