News By Edition

Valuation Review continues its special series “2024 Appraisal Outlook.” For our second installment, we sat down with Woody Fincham, president and founder of Fincham & Associates, Inc., to get his thoughts on what’s on the horizon for the next 12 months.

Fincham said one thing that helped to stabilize his business was diversification.

Read on for more from our exclusive series.

First American Financial Corp. companies, including appraisal software company ACI, found its systems offline after a cybersecurity incident, the company announced in a Dec. 22 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company reported in a second filing on Dec. 29 that ACI was back online.

Valuation Review sought comments from industry veterans about this incident.

Read on for more information and appraisal industry reactions.

Valuation Review sat down with licensed certified residential appraiser Glen Calderon, managing member of ValcoMD, for his thoughts on the various roles he has engaged in within real estate.

Calderon also discussed, amongst many things, default appraisals.

Read on for the full conversation.

Irontrax, known for its work in equipment appraisals, sales, and advisory services, recently announced its 20th anniversary. Founded in 2003, Irontrax embarked on a mission to revolutionize the equipment appraisal industry.

Valuation Review caught up again with Tom Burstein, the director of the jewelry and watches department at John Moran Auctioneers & Appraisers, who took us down a unique path to understanding auction valuations, private sales and what draws the attention of buyers.

Formal appraisals were also discussed as they are related to “hot” auction items.

Read on for the full conversation with Burstein.

The Appraisal Foundation (TAF) recently released its January newsletter with what is already happening to ring in 2024. TAF President David Bunton indicated that by the end of February, all three of its councils and two of the three boards will have met.

The real estate profession has its eyes on the trial in New York involving former President Donald Trump where the testimony of an appraiser could be the key of the proceedings.

Valuation Review spoke with attorney Craig Capilla, who offered his legal insight on this matter.

Read on to find out what Capilla shared with us.

A Washington state legislator plans to file a bill giving consumers the right to invoke an independent appraisal when there’s a disagreement about costs to repair a vehicle.

The bill, if passed, would allow the consumer to make a written demand for a third-party appraiser.

Read on for more details.

Freddie Mac recently released its 2024 Multifamily Outlook projecting the year ahead will bring positive growth. This is despite continued headwinds for the multifamily industry, and the long-term forecast for the asset class remains positive.

Valuation Review spoke with Jeremy Staudenmaier, general manager at ACI.

Staudenmaier gave more details about the company’s new mobile platform, which provides order management capabilities and data collection in the same app.

Read on for the full conversation.

CoreLogic recently released its Home Price Index (HPI) and HPI Forecast for November 2023.

Annual single-family home price growth moved up again during that time period, posting a 5.2 percent gain.

Read on for more details from this report.

Appraisers underutilize time adjustments for local house price growth, even though they can have an important effect on valuations, according to a blog post by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

When made, the adjustments are typically smaller than house price indexes would suggest, FHFA said.

Read on for more details.

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey. It showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.66 percent.

Households that moved across state lines in 2023 relocated to markets where homes cost on average $7,500 less than where they came from, a new Zillow study of United Van Lines data shows.

That savings is down from the peak of the pandemic housing market in 2021, but up from 2019.

Read on to learn more.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will host a public hearing of the Appraisal Subcommittee on appraisal bias Feb. 13 at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The subcommittee panel will hear from witnesses comprising the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency recently announced an increase in the annual investment cap for the government-sponsored enterprises for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit market. Beginning this year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be allowed to invest up to $1 billion each as equity investors.

Valuation Review continues its “2024 Appraisal Outlook Series” by talking to Tim Andersen, “The Appraiser’s Advocate.”

Andersen looked into his crystal ball to share what he believes will be opportunities for appraisers this year. Specifically, he alluded to artificial intelligence.

Read on for this installment of our exclusive series.

An internet provider leased a utility duct from Norfolk Southern Railway Co.

When it came time to renew the lease, the provider and Norfolk Southern could not agree to the renewal rent, resulting in a dispute and a lawsuit.

Read on for more information concerning this case.

The McLennan County, Texas, chief appraiser has been named executive director and chief appraiser of the Tarrant Appraisal District. The appointment follows the September 2023 resignation of Jeff Law following a unanimous vote of “no confidence” by the Tarrant County Commissioners Court.