Tag Archives: Appraisals

The Appraisal Institute announced the election of a new VP to head the association of real estate appraisers. J. Scott Robinson, MAI, SRA out of North Carolina will take on the role of 2014 VP beginning January 1.

After the city of Richmond, California, announced an unconventional plan to ward off foreclosures among underwater homeowners, several industry groups have called into question the constitutionality of the plan. The plan, which ""is fraught with negative economic consequences for the community,"" according to the ""Association of Mortgage Investors (AMI), is for the city to obtain the mortgage loans of underwater properties and help homeowners refinance at their homes' current value.

Home prices rose to their highest levels in almost five years in May, increasing by a non-seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent, according to the ""Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday. The 20-city index was up 12.2 percent from a year earlier, and the companion 10-city index was up 11.8 percent. For the month, the 10-city index rose 2.5 percent and the 20-city index was up 2.4 percent. The 10-city index rose to its highest level since September 2008, and the 20-city index to its highest level since October 2008.

A recent survey from United States Appraisals shows appraisers are less confident in the overall state of the housing market than they were at the end of the first quarter. When asked about their current level of confidence in the housing market, 49.6 percent of respondents answered ""mildly or moderately"" strong, while 14.5 percent said ""mildly or moderately weak."" The level of confidence observed in the Q2 survey was slightly below that of the Q1 survey, when 54.5 percent of appraisers indicated a mildly or moderately strong outlook.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales welled 8.3 percent in June to 497,000, according to a report from the Census Bureau and HUD. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected June sales to increase to 484,000 from May's originally reported 476,000. The median price of a new home fell 5.0 percent in June to $249,700, the third time the median price has dropped in the last four months. May's median price was revised down to $262,800 from the originally reported $263,900.

A large percentage of appraisers are confident their future is bound to look brighter, according to a recent survey from the Appraisal Institute. Among the residential appraisers surveyed, 80 percent said their business outlook is either ""somewhat"" or ""very"" positive for the next one or two years, while 78 percent of commercial appraisers said the same. Additionally, 86 percent of residential appraisers and 55 percent of commercial appraisers said demand for their services is strong.

Global DMS, a provider of Web-based compliant valuation management software, announced the integration of its valuation management software with DataQuick's Collateral Validation solution.

Solidifi, one of the country's largest independent residential real estate appraisal providers, announced the launch of its EXTRAordinary Appraiser Program.

Six financial regulatory agencies issued on Wednesday a proposed rule to exempt a subset of higher-priced mortgage loans from certain appraisal requirements. In a joint release, the agencies proposed to provide exemptions from Dodd-Frank appraisal requirements for loans of $25,000 or less, certain streamlined refinancings, and certain loans secured by manufactured housing.

The price of a new single-family home dropped 3.2 percent in May, but sales increased 2.1 percent to 476,000, the highest level in almost five years, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected April sales to increase to 460,000 from April's originally reported 454,000. April sales were revised to 466,000.