News By Edition

The American Society of Appraisers Business Development/Government Relations Senior Director John Russell spoke to conference attendees at the 2019 Valuation Expo in Chicago.

Russell advocated for more engagement from appraisers during his presentation.

Read on to find out what more Russell told the audience.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is proposing the idea of quadrupling the appraisal threshold concerning nonresidential real estate loans from $250,000 to $ 1 million.

Appraisal Institute (AI) President Stephen S. Wagner addressed his concerns about the NCUA’s proposal by way of an article he composed suggesting such a move could send the profession back to the financial crisis period appraisers felt in 2008.

Valuation Review reached out to Wagner to get his thoughts.

The British Columbia (BC) government released reports which detail the findings of two in-depth reviews of suspected money laundering activities in BC's real estate market, according to a release from the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC). Read on to learn more.

Only by properly identifying and investigating the unique characteristics of condos, co-ops and planned unit developments can appraisers properly value these common but complicated residential properties.

The Appraisal Institute (AI) outlined information for appraisers to follow  by way of its new book, which was announced on the AI website.

Read on for more information about this book to guide appraisers along these complex assignments.

Where and where not to go?

With summer arriving and 52 percent of Americans reporting having unused vacation days last year, the personal-finance website Wallet-Hub released its report on 2019’s best and worst cities for “staycations.”

Read on to find out what cities made the list.

After the Mortgage Bankers Association sent a letter in support of raising the threshold dollar amount for requiring manual appraisals from $250,000 to $400,000, Collateral Analytics examined how raising this threshold would impact the mortgage industry as a whole. Read on to learn more.

It would appear the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board finally had something positive happen in court regarding its legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission.

The fourth affirmative defense found the LREAB acted appropriately in complying with a federal regulatory mandate.

Read on to find out what the court said.

The difference between homeowners’ and appraisers’ opinions of home values continued to widen in April.

This, after a sizeable move in March, according to the Quicken Loans’ National Home Price Perception Index.

Read on to find out what the April numbers revealed.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced the extension of the effective date regarding documentation requirements for FHA loans with borrower downpayment assistance provided by a governmental entity. Read on to learn more. 

According to Freddie Mac’s May forecast, steady housing market growth is expected because of the positive impact of low mortgage rates, a strong labor market, low unemployment, and modest wage growth. Read on to learn more from the report.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced three new appointments to join the agency. Read on to find out the identity of these individuals and what roles they will be fulfilling at FHFA.

Appraisers often find that following a disaster, determining home values can be a challenge. A recent report from CoreLogic, takes a look at what factors impact the appraisal process following severe natural disasters, and why homeowners affected by storms and other disasters may seek an appraisal. Read on to learn more from the report.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose three points to 66 in May, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Read on to learn more from the report.

Home sellers in Austin, Texas; Los Angeles; Sacramento, Calif.; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego; and Tampa, Fla., soon will be able to use Zillow Offers to request a no-obligation cash offer from Zillow to buy their home. Zillow announced plans to launch the product in each of these six markets by the end of the first quarter of 2020. Read on to learn more.

OpenClose announced that it is has scheduled a May release for the official rollout of its digital mortgage point-of-sale (POS) solution, ConsumerAssist Digital POS. Read on to learn more.

Tyler Technologies Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Department of Inland Revenue, Real Property Tax Valuation Unit for data collection and services with Tyler’s CLT Appraisal Services. Read on to learn more.

The appraisal career path may lead more towards a bright future.

As the number of real estate appraisers has decreased in recent years, rewarding career opportunities have opened for recent graduates, according to the Appraisal Institute.

Read on to learn more.

The National Credit Union is proposing a raise in the appraisal threshold dollar amount from $250,000 to $ 1 million on all nonresidential real estate loans.

In Part II of this story, Valuation Review hears more from Appraisal Institute President Stephen S. Wagner, whose article to the American Banker, didn’t exactly express many positives about the proposal.

Read the conclusion to hear more of what Wagner said about this.

In Part II of this conference feature, Valuation Review continues its account of American Society of Appraisers’ (ASA) Business Development/Government Relations Senior Director John Russell’s comments to attendees at the 2019 Valuation Expo in Chicago.

Russell specifically outlined evaluations and stressed appraisers are armed with much information and knowledge than they are probably aware of when it comes to helping homebuyers make one of the most important decisions of their lives.

Read on for the conclusion of this story.

CoreLogic released its new valuation services, software solutions and platform enhancements for mortgage lenders embracing the industry’s appraisal-modernization initiatives. Read on to learn more.

SLK Global Solutions has hired a new leader for its U.S. mortgage business to oversee the company’s next wave of new technology and service products. Read on to learn the identity of this hire.

Elections for the new American Society of Appraisers (ASA) international officers is set to begin by May 15, with members able to cast their votes up until May 31, the ASA announced on its website. Read on for more information.