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Lenders will be required to provide mortgage applicants with free copies of all appraisals and other home-value estimates under final rules officially issued on Jan. 18 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The rule clarifies what constitutes a “valuation” for the purposes of the disclosure requirement. The rule also discusses what creditors must do when they receive multiple copies of a valuation.

The Ohio housing market was filled with a number of positives in 2012, as sales activity rose 12.7 percent over the level of the prior year and the average sales price jumped 5.5 percent statewide, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors. Year-end 2012 sales of new and existing homes (January to December) totaled 114,457, a 12.7 percent increase from the 101,561 sales posted in 2011, according to the statistics provided by the state’s Multiple Listing Services.

Nationwide Appraisal & Settlement Network (NASN) recognized the importance of creating and maintaining solid relationships with their network of appraisers, the company announced in a press release. “Just like clients and staff, appraisers are part of the structure on which our business is built, and we commit to treating them fairly and with respect. We believe this is a smart approach to business,” said Cari Burris, director of operations at NASN. 

Earlier this month, CoesterVMS unveiled its flat-fee appraisal payment structure to the industry. As with any fee-related news, there was some considerable appraisal industry backlash and questioning. A week later, CoesterVMS Chief Executive Officer Brian Coester penned a letter to the industry to clarifying the model. Valuation Review caught up with Coester to talk about the company’s forward-thinking payment structure, the industry reaction and the future fee goals of CoesterVMS.

Take a moment to think about all of your personal information that has gone digital. Your address, phone numbers, bank account statements, credit card numbers, social security number and tax information are just a few examples of the sensitive data that is likely accessed digitally by a number of different platforms. As the appraisal and lending industries continue to transition to more technology-driven loan origination software (LOS) and data submission portals, the need for data security has never been more important.

While digital data is easily accessible, it’s also extremely vulnerable if left unchecked. Not only are cyber attacks a reality, but also corrupted data, system and platform compatibility and poor user practices all put your clients sensitive information at risk. Here’s a statistic that may surprise you ...

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes was unchanged in January, remaining at a level of 47 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. This means that following eight consecutive monthly gains, the index continues to hold at its highest level since April of 2006.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the December edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. Data continue to show important progress across many key indicators with the housing market bottoming out nationally and clearly turning a corner – as home values continue to rise and home sales remained strong in November – although officials caution that the overall recovery remains fragile.

Veros Real Estate Solutions announced its Pathway solution will deliver Fannie Mae’s proprietary appraisal messages. The messages are part of Fannie Mae’s program to provide specific feedback on appraisals submitted to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP), a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) requirement prior to loan submission that allows data checking on valuations before full loan files are received. Messages are sent from Fannie Mae on data inconsistencies and other appraisal quality issues in the system, intended to improve overall valuation reasonableness and quality of data for Fannie Mae loans.

Lenders will be required to obtain a written appraisal from a certified or licensed appraiser and meet other requirements before making a higher-priced mortgage loan under a joint rule approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Read on to learn about the final rule and important changes regulators made in response to public comments.

CoreLogic released its November CoreLogic HPI report. Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 7.4 percent in November 2012 compared to November 2011. This change represents the biggest increase since May 2006 and the ninth consecutive increase in home prices nationally on a year-over-year basis. On a month-over-month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 0.3 percent in November 2012 compared to October 2012. The HPI analysis shows that all but six states are experiencing year-over-year price gains.

In a move that will give the company a national presence in the real estate appraisal and valuation industry, Lee & Associates, one of the largest commercial brokerage firms in the country, has launched Lee & Associates Valuation and Consulting Services. Headed by real estate veterans Daniel Boring and Victor Segrest, the service line based in Atlanta, Ga., will provide national coverage.

Southern California's housing market ended 2012 with the highest December home sales in three years, the result of robust investment activity, a record level of cash buyers and more sales gains in move-up markets. The median sale price jumped nearly 20 percent from a year ago, pushed higher by greater demand and the market's shift away from foreclosure resales and toward more mid- to high-end deals, a real estate information service reported.

Foreclosure activity nationwide decreased in 2012, as noted by data from RealtyTrac, but there are still a number of metro areas across the country that experienced a rebound in foreclosure starts and foreclosure completions (REOs) during the year. Based on that data, RealtyTrac posted a predictive list of 20 metro areas that should see an increase in the number of foreclosures for sale in 2013 — either as short sales or bank-owned homes. For title and settlement professionals in these areas, it might be useful to adjust accordingly.

Mortgage applications increased 11.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Jan. 4, 2013. The results include an adjustment to account for the New Year’s Day holiday.

The Refinance Index increased 12 percent from the previous week and is up less than 1 percent from two weeks ago, the week prior to the holidays. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 10 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 49 percent compared with the previous week and was 8 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index is down 2 percent from two weeks ago, the week prior to the holidays.

A federal grand jury indicted three Maryland individuals on charges of conspiracy to commit and committing wire fraud affecting a financial institution, in connection with a million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme. According to the nine-count indictment, they carried out a scheme to fraudulently obtain inflated home mortgages, which included the preparation of misleading and fraudulent real estate appraisal reports, and then diverted a substantial portion of the proceeds resulting from the sale of four homes to themselves. The defendants each face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for the conspiracy and for each of eight counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution. 

With 11 months of data reported, 2012 will clearly go down as a record year for favorable housing affordability conditions, and a great year for buyers who could get a mortgage, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR's national Housing Affordability Index stood at 198.2 in November, based on the relationship between median home price, median family income and average mortgage interest rate. The higher the index, the greater the household purchasing power; recordkeeping began in 1970.