By Diane Thompson

The Bureau is publishing its Spring 2019 Agenda as part of the Spring 2019 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which is coordinated by the Office of Management and Budget. As an independent regulatory agency, the Bureau voluntarily participates in the Unified Agenda. The agenda lists the regulatory matters that the Bureau reasonably anticipates having under consideration during the period from May 1, 2019, to April 30, 2020, as described further below

• Amended policy for the courses requirement for General Candidates for Designation by removing the requirement to take and pass “General Appraiser Report Writing and Case Studies.”
• Approved a transfer of funds (in the amount of the 2018 audited surplus) from the reserve fund to the operating fund.
• Elected Elaine Liz-Ramirez, MAI, to fill a vacancy on the Audit Committee.
• Approved the merger of the Memphis Chapter and the Greater Tennessee Chapter (to be known as the Tennessee Chapter of the Appraisal Institute).

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Pledger M. (Jody) Bishop III, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, of Charleston, South Carolina, was nominated for 2020 Appraisal Institute vice president by the AI National Nominating Committee at its May 8 meeting in Chicago.

National Nominating Committee Chair James L. Murrett, MAI, SRA, submitted the committee’s nomination to the AI Board of Directors at its May 9-10 meeting in Chicago. Board members may file petitions for additional nominees in accordance with the Appraisal Institute Bylaws. The AI Board of Directors is expected to elect the 2020 vice president at its July 25-26 meeting in Denver.

By Patricia Kirk

U.S. office market performance in the first quarter of 2019 showed resilience, with roughly 14 million sq. ft. of absorption and dropping vacancy, despite increasingly cautious economic sentiment, reports real estate services firm JLL.

The following proposed slate is presented by the North Carolina Chapter’s 2019 Nominating Committee comprised of Joel Tate, SRA; Susan King, MAI; Frank Leatherman, MAI; Rocky McElhannon, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS; Tom Taylor, MAI, SRA.

The underlined below denotes the members selected to fill the positions as listed. Approval of this slate will be completed via an online survey which will be sent via email to the membership on Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

By Barbra Murray

The future still bodes well for the office and industrial sectors, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors 2019 Q1 U.S. Commercial Property Monitor report. However, survey participants indicate that more downward movement is on tap for the retail sector.

The Appraisal Institute designated 40 members in April, including; and 20 who received MAI designations; 5 who received SRA designations; 10 who received AI-GRS designations; 5 who received AI-RRS designations. Special congratulations to NCAI members, David Ivey, AI-GRS and Thomas Lott, MAI, AI-GRS.

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By Erika Morphy

A significant shift is underway for the US restaurants and grocery industries and the real estate these operators occupy, according to a new CBRE analysis. These changes include a greater push for convenient, prepared foods, a growing millennial influence, and the emergence of inner-ring suburbs as the industry’s hottest market. 

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By Austin Weinstein

The new chief regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac says he takes the role with a “great sense of urgency” to address the biggest piece of unfinished business from the 2008 financial crisis: U.S. control of the mortgage-finance giants.

Appraisal Institute Among Organizations Opposing Residential Threshold Increase

The Appraisal Institute on Feb. 4 was one of six organizations signing a comment letter that "strongly opposed" a proposal from the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to raise the residential appraisal threshold from $250,000 to $400,000. 

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The Appraisal Institute on April 17 announced that its 2018 Annual Report is available. The report highlights AI's accomplishments during the previous year in education, professional services, international activities, government relations, meetings, financial performance, professional practice and other areas.

View the report.

The Appraisal Institute’s National Nominating Committee is scheduled to interview two candidates for 2020 AI vice president in Chicago May 8, and the committee is expected to nominate one or more individuals for 2020 vice president at the Board of Directors’ May 9-10 meeting.

The candidates are, in alphabetical order, Pledger M. Bishop III, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS and Eric Schwartz, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS.

AI professionals may view the candidate biographies and questionnaires (login required) and provide input by 5 p.m. CDT May 6. Correspondence should be addressed to Jim Murrett, MAI, SRA, chair, 2019 National Nominating Committee, and emailed to Joan Barngrover, board secretary and special assistant to the CEO, at [email protected].

The Appraisal Institute designated 25 members in March, including 11 who received their MAI designations, five who received their SRA designations, four who received their AI-GRS designations and five who received their AI-RRS designations. 

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The Appraisal Institute on April 3 announced the recognition of 15 individuals as a "Volunteer of Distinction" for the first quarter.

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The 2^nd Quarter Chapter Business Meeting was held in Asheville, NC this past week.  The guest speaker was NC House Representative Brian Turner who provided an informative overview of upcoming priorities for the NC General Assembly.  He also took questions from the audience on a variety of issues.  During the meeting the chapter celebrated two new designees Laura Gourley, AI-GRS and Bill Johnson, MAI and acknowledged the Q2 education scholarship recipients Erica Butler, Joel Phillips and Mary Coltrane.

A detailed analysis of population and employment data, along with the use of fair share comparisons, increases the accuracy of assumptions made by appraisers when completing commercial valuation assignments, according to a study published this week in The Appraisal Journal.

The Appraisal Journal is the quarterly technical and academic publication of the Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers. The materials presented in the publication represent the opinions and views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Appraisal Institute.

The Small Business Administration issued revised guidance March 26 stating that an appraisal may be needed to evaluate the creditworthiness of commercial real estate loans below $500,000. New legislation that aligned SBA regulations with those from the federal bank regulatory agencies eliminated the appraisal requirement for commercial loans below the half-million-dollar threshold. 

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New findings from a National Association of Realtors® survey show that more Americans believe that now is a good time to purchase a home. Consumer opinions about home buying bounced back in the first quarter of 2019, with 37 percent stating that they strongly believe now is a good time to buy, up from 34 percent in the last quarter of 2018 but down from 38 percent one year ago. Only 35 percent of respondents said that now is not a good time to buy a home, compared to 37 percent in 2018's fourth quarter.

NAR's first quarter Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) survey 1also found that a majority of those polled, 53 percent, said that the economy is improving – down slightly from 59 percent at the end of last year. In 2019, optimism is the greatest among those who earn $100,000 or more and those who reside in rural areas. Fifty percent of Generation X said the economy is improving, while 42 percent of urban area residents reported the same.

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