News By Edition

Tennessee Certified Appraiser David Braun reached out to Valuation Review to discuss mutation of data records (MDRs) as outlined in his whitepaper.

He said the purpose of this paper is to disseminate research on a specific technique related to the field of predictive price modeling and offer techniques which have potential to improve the outputs of a wide variety of price prediction modeling ranging from traditional appraisal practice to the development of automated valuation models.

Read on to find out more on MDRs.

A perspective from an AMC company.

In a letter sent to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Office of Housing and Regulatory Policy, Class Valuation outlined its thoughts on the agency’s Request for Information (RFI) on appraisal modernization.  

Read on to learn more.

Appraisal circles and selected organizations recently have addressed bias and discrimination in the profession, as well as emphasizing the need for diversity.

The American Society of Appraisers, along with the Appraisal Institute, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, National Society of Real Estate Appraisers and MBREA, sponsored a webinar titled “Unconscious Bias” with panelists from the Ivy Planning Group discussing the many ways biases exist.

Read on to find out more about one of the more prevalent subject matters appraisers are now encountering.

What should appraisers be thinking about a year after the pandemic?

Valuation Review shares additional thoughts from Dustin Harris, “The Appraiser Coach,” who recently outlined in one of his blogs where the appraisal profession stands overall, and where it can go from here.

Read on for more.

There is more commercial firm expansion.

Valbridge Property Advisors, the largest independent commercial property valuation and advisory services firm in the U.S., opened its 80th U.S. location on Jan.  1 in San Luis Obispo, Calif., as part of Valbridge Property Advisors/Central California.

Read on to learn more.

The Appraisal Foundation’s (TAF) Appraisal Standards Board has extended the current edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice by one year, TAF announced on its website. Read on for more details.

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. is partnering with Snapsheet Appraisal Services, the companies announced. Read on to learn more about this partnership.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some hotel owners suddenly found themselves shut out of the debt market and turned to the JLL Valuation Advisory Group for advice.

JLL proceeded to help them chart their path forward.

Read on for their insight given to prospective owners.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently said the state is partnering with nonprofit organizations to deploy undercover testers to root out discrimination in home rental and sale transactions.

This is according to an announcement from the Department of State (N.Y.) Division of Licensing Services/New regulations for Real Estate Appraisers Require Fair Housing Training.

Read on to learn more and find out how this affects appraisers.

The Appraisal Institute, in collaboration with Fannie Mae and the National Urban League, announced the latest group of aspiring real estate appraisers awarded scholarships through the Appraiser Diversity Initiative. Read on for more information about this program.

Valuation Review checks in again with Dustin Harris, “The Appraiser Coach,” whose topic for this month is the importance of appraisers holding brainstorming meetings.

What truly can be accomplished from these get-togethers?

Read on to find out the answer.

The CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights report features an interactive view of the company’s mortgage performance analysis through November 2020.

The report measures early-stage delinquency rates analyzing the health of the market.

Read on for more of this monthly report from CoreLogic.

Freddie Mac’s Single-Family business recently said its Credit Risk Transfer program transferred credit risk via $4.8 billion of issuance on $167.2 billion of single-family mortgages from U.S. taxpayers to the private sector in the fourth quarter of 2020. Fannie Mae added more updates to its Lender Letter (LL-2021-04). Read on for more details.

Regarding the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s consideration of implementing hybrid appraisals that enlist a third party to collect the data for a lender and certified appraiser once past the automated underwriting system, Valuation Review sought out expert analysis and opinion from Bradford Technologies President and CEO Jeff Bradford.

The company executive spelled out what this can mean for the appraisal profession.

Read on to find out what Bradford had to say.

According the Fannie Mae’s economic and strategic research group, the U.S. economy is expected to grow 6.7 percent this year, up from last month’s forecast of 5.3 percent.

“If 2020 was the year of the virus, then 2021 will more than likely be the year of the vaccine,” Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Doug Duncan said in a release.

Read on to find out more from this Fannie Mae report.

While mortgage lenders have been buying and installing technology at a rapid pace since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many aren’t actually using it as much as they could be, according to the latest Insights Report from mortgage advisory firm STRATMOR Group. Read on to learn more. 

SitusAMC Holdings Corp. has acquired Street Resource Group, Inc. (SRG) and its widely used Warehouse Loan System (WLS), the company announced.

The acquisition expands SitusAMC’s warehouse lending technology offering, pairing WLS with SitusAMC’s existing ProMerit system (acquired via the MBMS, Inc. acquisition in 2019).

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved a conciliation agreement between JPMorgan Chase Bank and an African American woman, resolving the woman’s claim the mortgage lender, relying on an appraisal that she believed was inaccurate, valued her home at an amount lower than its actual worth because of her race. Read on for more. 

Minority homeownership continues to lag behind the national rate, according to a new study by the National Association of Realtors. Read on to learn more.