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.
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.
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.
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.
The Appraisal Institute on April 3 announced the recognition of 15 individuals as a "Volunteer of Distinction" for the first quarter.
The 2nd 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.
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.
By Matt Grossman
A merger between two of the country’s most active debt-advisory shops is set to create the largest commercial real estate debt practice in the country.
By Michael Tucker
Three themes anchor the U.S. commercial real estate investment outlook: U.S. economic performance, cycle maturity and the monetary policy outlook, said Cushman & Wakefield, New York.
By Kerry Curry
With late 2018 jitters gone and investor optimism returning, the commercial real estate market should experience mostly steady cap rates through the first half of 2019, although there are particular market segments and geographies that could experience some bumps.
By Jessica Guerin
Private investors are buying non-conforming mortgage loans – which are usually the domain of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – at a growing rate.
By Robert Dietz
Continuing a multiyear trend, new single-family home size decreased during the final quarter of 2018.
By David Bodamer
Although it has not been the star of this extended commercial real estate cycle, the office sector has delivered its fair share of strong performance and solid returns. Occupancy rates and rents rose, cap rates fell and development has been kept in check.
By Tim Wang and Julia Laumont
A major and unprecedented structural shift has occurred in the real estate market due to a variety of demographic and socioeconomic factors. Occupied U.S. rental apartment units rose by 20 percent above the prior 10-year period. Real estate investment managers’ allocations to institutional-quality multifamily product have risen on the ongoing strength in property fundamentals.
By Laurie Goodman and Jun Zhu
Historically, purchase mortgages have performed better than refinance mortgages, or “refis,” defaulting less often. But changes made in response to widespread appraisal bias during the crisis have improved the industry’s risk assessment and management abilities overall and, accordingly, have decreased the expected default rate on all mortgages.
