Racial bias often creeps into home appraisals. Here's what's happening to change that

Originally published on March 13, 2023, by Jennifer Ludden for NPR.

Years of homeowner horror stories and a growing body of research has cast a harsh light on how frequently racial bias can skew home appraisals. It's an industry that's dominated by white men whose methods for valuing homes haven't changed much in decades.

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More Lakefront Properties Available; Lake Michigan Takes the Lead: Report

Originally published on March 15, 2023, by LakeHomes.com.

There are more than 70,000 lake homes and lots for sale in the U.S. with a combined value of more than $33 billion, up from the 60,000 or so properties available last spring with a combined value of around $26 billion, according to the Lake Real Estate Market report released March 9. Lake Michigan has the largest available inventory, followed by Puget Sound in Washington and Lake Norman in North Carolina.

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Share of $1 Million Homes in the US Drops: Redfin

Originally published on March 6, 2023, by Kenneth Applewhaite for Redfin.com.

Just over 7% of U.S. homes are worth $1 million or more, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That figure is as of January 2023, the most recent data available. The share has dropped from June 2022’s all-time high of 8.6% and remains essentially unchanged from a year earlier–but it’s up from 4.2% just before the pandemic began.

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Pace of Interest Rate Hikes May Increase: Fed

Originally published on March 7, 2023, by Brian Cheung for NBC News.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers Tuesday that policymakers may have to speed up their interest rate hikes to tame high inflation.

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Surge in Multifamily Construction to Create Short-term Oversupply: CBRE

Originally published on March 9, 2023 by Michael Tucker for the Mortgage Banker's Association.

CBRE, Dallas, said delivery of a near-record 716,000 new multifamily units over the next two years will create a short-term oversupply, but noted the new supply will keep long-term fundamentals healthy.

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Member Profile: Michael Elwell, MAI, SRA, R/W-AC

Where do you live and who do you work for?
Greensboro, NC at Cushman and Wakefield - Infrastructure Practice - Valuation & Advisory

How long have you been appraising?
20 years
 
Who was your supervisor as a Trainee and how did you meet them?
My supervisor was Steve Norris, MAI. I met him through a job posting for a real estate researcher position at his company.
 
What is the most unique property you’ve appraised?
All the properties I appraise are unique since they are all impacted by right of way/eminent domain issues that are unique to each property.
 
What is a fact about you, outside of work-life, that people would be surprised to know?
I grew up in Wisconsin, so I am a Green Bay Packers fan (Beer brats and sauerkraut too).

Fannie Mae: Appraisals No Longer the ‘Default Requirement’

Originally published on March 8, 2023, by the Appraisal Institute.

Fannie Mae on March 1 updated its Selling Guide to include a range of options for property valuations as the government-sponsored enterprise moves away from suggesting that an appraisal is a “default requirement.” Fannie notes that home valuation options include value acceptance, value acceptance plus property data and hybrid appraisals.  
 
Read Fannie Mae’s updated Selling Guide
 

Available Housing Inventory, Home Prices Continue to Rise: Realtor.com

Originally published March 2, 2023, by Sara Wiskerchen for Realtor.com.

 

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US Supreme Court Takes Case that Could Shutter CFPB

Originally published on February 27, 2023, by Nina Totenberg for NPR.

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up a case that could threaten the existence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and potentially the status of numerous other federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve.

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Top 10 U.S. Counties with Most Foreclosure Starts in January 2023

Originally published by  on February 10, 2023 for ATTOM.

According to ATTOM’s just released January 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, there were a total of 31,557 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in January 2023. That figure was up 36 percent from a year ago and up 2 percent from the prior month.

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Strong Demand Anticipated for Outpatient Healthcare Facilities, According to JLL  

Originally published on  b

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Price Gap Between Most and Least Expensive Homes is Shrinking, Data Shows

Originally published on February 16, 2023 by Thomas Malone for CoreLogic.

Quick Takes:

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AI Launches New Season of Face Value Podcast in Both Audio and Video Formats

Originally published on February 17, 2023 by the Appraisal Institute.

The Appraisal Institute on Feb. 17 premiered season 2 of its monthly podcast series, Face Value. Hosts Warren Boizot, SRA, AI-RRS, and Tonia Vailas, MAI, AI-GRS, talk with President Craig Steinley, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, and President-Elect Sandy Adomatis, SRA, about the year ahead, project updates and how AI is helping residential appraisers.

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MISMO Seeks Professionals for Workgroup on Appraisal, Other Standards

Originally published by Caitlin Groves on February 8, 2023 for MBA Newslink.

MISMO®, the real estate finance industry standards organization, issued a call for industry professionals to join a new Development Workgroup focused on developing APIs for MISMO’s Commercial datasets.

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Home Prices on the Rise in 9 out of 10 Metros, According to NAR

Originally published on February 9, 2023 by Troy Green for the National Association of Realtors.

Approximately nine out of 10 metro markets registered home price gains in the fourth quarter of 2022 despite mortgage rates eclipsing 7%, according to the National Association of Realtors®’ latest quarterly report. Eighteen percent of the 186 tracked metro areas registered double-digit price increases over the same time period, down from 46% in the third quarter of 2022.

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Millennials Make Up Majority of Potential Homebuyers in Nation’s Largest Metros: Data

Originally published by Jacob Channel on February 6,2023 for LendingTree.

Though it may sometimes seem as if millennials are destined to rent or live in their parent’s basements forever, they make up the largest share of homebuyers in the U.S., surpassing older (and richer) generations. In fact, millennials have dominated the housing market for the past decade.

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FinCEN: Be Wary of CRE Purchases from Sanctioned Russians

Originally published on January 25, 2023, by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Jan. 25 sent an alert to financial institutions warning them to look out for potential commercial real estate purchases made by Russian investors who have been sanctioned. FinCEN specifically warned against vulnerabilities based on a review of the Banking Secrecy Act.

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Multifamily Starts to Drop Nearly 30% as Sector Faces Headwinds: NAHB 

Originally published on January 31, 2023, by Stephanie Pagan for the National Association of Home Builders.

 

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Federal Reserve Bumps Interest Rates a Quarter Point, Anticipates Further Increases

Originally published on February 1, 2023, by Jeff Cox for CNBC.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point and gave little indication it is nearing the end of this hiking cycle.
 
Aligning with market expectations, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee boosted the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage point. That takes it to a target range of 4.5%-4.75%, the highest since October 2007.

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White House Unveils Plans for Rent Protections, Affordability

Originally published on January 25, 2023 by the White House.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to increase fairness in the rental market and further principles of fair housing. These actions align with a new Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights that the Administration is also releasing today. The Blueprint lays out a set of principles to drive action by the federal government, state and local partners, and the private sector to strengthen tenant protections and encourage rental affordability.

Read the Key Actions