Tag Archives: Appraisals

United States Appraisals, a national appraisal management company (AMC) based in Leawood, Kansas, announced it has joined the Collateral Risk Network (CRN). Composed of chief appraisers, collateral risk managers, regulators, and valuation experts, CRN focuses on resolving risk and compliance challenges facing the collateral risk profession.

Home prices posted their strongest year-year gain in almost seven years in January according to the Case-Shiller 10- and 20-city Home Price Indexes released Tuesday. Home prices rose year-year in all 20 of the cities in the Case-Shiller survey. Month-over-month, the 10-city index improved 0.2 percent in January, while the 20-city index was up 0.1 percent. Year-over-year, the 10-city index was up 7.3 percent, and the 20-city index rose 8.1 percent. Prices rose in nine cities in January over December while falling in eight.

Existing-home sales rose 0.8 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Economists had expected the sales pace to climb to 5.01 million from January's originally reported 4.92 million. January sales were revised up to 4.94 million. The inventory of homes for sale rose for the first time since last July, up 9.6 percent to 1,940,000. At the reported sales pace, that represents a 4.7-month supply of homes for sale, up from the 4.3-month supply reported for January.

Home prices rose at their fastest pace since July 2006, according to the Case Shiller 10- and 20-city Home Price Indices, Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday. At the same the Case Shiller national index, reported quarterly, registered its strongest gain since Q2 2006. The 10- and 20-city indices each rose 0.2 percent in December, reversing declines in November. Year-over-year, the 10-city index was up 5.9 percent, and the 20-city index rose 6.8 percent. The national index was up 7.3 percent year-over-year.

As regulatory institutions begin to provide some clarity to the mortgage market, the National Association of Home Builders insists the market still lacks confidence and is badly in need of a sound and functional appraisal system. ""At the center of this ongoing crisis in confidence is an appraisal system that remains dysfunctional and is a major impediment to reestablishing a vibrant and stable housing finance framework,"" NAHB stated in a white paper released last week, titled A Comprehensive Blueprint for Residential Appraisal Reform.

Despite seeing a month-over-month drop, the 10- and 20-city Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes registered their strongest year-over-year improvement in two and a half years on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, Standard & Poor's, which publishes the indexes, reported Tuesday. The 10-city index fell 0.2 percent, and the 20-city index dropped 0.1 percent from October to November. On an annual basis, however, the 10-city index was up 4.5 percent, and the 20-city index rose 5.5 percent.

Starting in January 2014, mortgage lenders will work under new rules governing the handling of appraisals and other home value estimates. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Friday the adoption of a new rule intended to improve consumer access to appraisal reports. The new rule implements requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act that state that lenders must give consumers a copy of each appraisal free of charge. A lender generally may still charge a reasonable fee for the cost of conducting the appraisal.

On January 28, Fannie Mae will implement appraisal messages through the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP). As the date nears, Veros Real Estate Solutions announced its PATHWAY solution is prepared to deliver the GSE’s proprietary appraisal messages.

CoesterVMS announced that as of January 1, it has implemented the first flat fee model for residential appraisals. Through the new model, all conventional appraisals are priced at $450 while appraisals are $475.

Home prices fell in October for the first time since March, according to the monthly Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Both the 10-city index and the 20-city index decreased 0.1 percent from September to 158.77 and 146.08 respectively. The value of the 10 city index fell 0.10 and of the 20-city index dropped 0.09. The 10-city index for October was 3.4 percent higher than it was in October 2011 and the 20-city index showed a 4.3 percent year-year gain.