- Increased user accessibility to data;
- Improved business processes and efficiencies;
- Integrated web experience; and
- Self-service capabilities that will make interactions with AI simpler and more convenient.
The Appraisal Institute designated 26 members in August, including one who received his MAI and SRA designations. Additionally, 17 received their MAI designation, four received their SRA designation and four received their AI-GRS designation. The Appraisal Institute designated 58 members in September, including; and 39 who received MAI designations; 6 who received SRA designations; 10 who received AI-GRS designations; 3 who received AI-RRS designations.
Special congratulations to NCAI members William M. Best, MAI; Stephen M. Worthy, AI-GRS; and John C. Palmer, MAI.
In the aftermath of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, appraisers can help their clients by providing expert market analysis, according to the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers.
The Appraisal Institute’s “Guide Note 10: Development of an Opinion of Market Value in the Aftermath of a Disaster” addresses how real property markets in affected areas often exhibit instability, even chaos, and how analyzing data in such markets presents an array of challenges. The Guide Note, revised last year, also discusses how valuation professionals can develop credible opinions of market value in the aftermath of a disaster.
ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database and first property data provider of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), today released its Q2 2019 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows that U.S. single family homes and condos sold for a median price of $266,000 in the second quarter, up 10.8 percent from the previous quarter and up 6.4 percent from a year ago — reaching a new median home price peak.
Meanwhile, the report also shows that homeowners who sold in the second quarter had owned an average of 8.09 years, reaching a new peak, up 3 percent from last quarter and up 4 percent from Q2 2018. Homeownership tenure averaged 4.21 years nationwide between Q1 2000 and Q3 2007, prior to the Great Recession.
By Jessica Guerin
The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a notice to lenders announcing the formal suspension of its rule change to down payment assistance guidelines.
By Alina Ptaszynski
Opendoor and Redfin, two of the nation’s largest technology-powered real estate companies, today announced home sellers in Phoenix and Atlanta can now request an Opendoor offer through Redfin’s site and mobile apps. By coming together, we are giving homeowners more options for selling their home in a simple and convenient way. Redfin will also continue to expand RedfinNow, its own instant offer service.
The International Valuation Standards Council on July 31 announced that the latest edition of the International Valuation Standards is available. The new standards, which take effect Jan. 31, 2020, include updates to development property, limitations, and valuation models; numerous technical revisions; and a revised glossary with new terms and clarifications.
The Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation on Aug. 1 announced its intention to explore the creation of uniform standards for evaluations. The ASB said that since no standards exist for conducting evaluations, there is greater risk to the safety and soundness of real estate transactions and diminished protections for consumers. A concept paper is expected near Labor Day.
A Louisiana court on July 29 granted a motion to stay in the Federal Trade Commission's case against the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board in which it alleged the LREAB illegally determined a floor for appraiser prices. The court ruled that, among other things, continuing the case would hamper the state's ability to make and enforce policies.
The Appraisal Institute works to represent the valuation profession in media coverage across the country. From January-June 2019, the Appraisal Institute and its professionals were included in more than 1,200 stories in 430 unique media outlets, with a potential audience of nearly 1 billion and a publicity value of more than $1.2 million.
The Appraisal Institute’s latest video shows some of the highlights in media coverage over the past six months, including stories in National Mortgage News, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone.
Pledger M. (Jody) Bishop III, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, was elected 2020 vice president of the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers Thursday by its Board of Directors in Denver.
Bishop’s one-year term at the Appraisal Institute will begin Jan. 1, followed by one year each as president-elect, president and immediate past president. He will serve on AI’s Executive Committee and the policy-making Board of Directors all four years. He also will chair the Finance Committee in 2020 and the National Nominating Committee in 2023.
By Sebastian Obando
E-commerce and last mile logistics tenants are fueling additional demand for industrial space expansion in the U.S., spurring midsize space users to dominate the industrial market.
More than 525 real estate professionals from around the world attended the opening session of the valuation profession’s most important annual event, hosted by the Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers.
The 2019 Appraisal Institute Annual Conference, held at the downtown Hyatt Regency Denver, featured world-renowned keynote speakers, 30 breakout sessions on trend-setting valuation topics, networking opportunities for industry professionals, an exhibit hall featuring cutting-edge products and services and an awards ceremony honoring the valuation profession’s best and brightest.
Last year, developers in the U.S. completed 211,000 new housing units in buildings of 50 units or more, the biggest number on record. The total number of new apartments constructed didn’t come close to setting any records, though.
These numbers are from Characteristics of New Housing, an annual Census Bureau data release that is so chock-full of interesting information (for example: 88% of apartments completed in 2018 had in-unit laundry facilities) that I briefly contemplated interrupting my vacation to write about it when it came out two weeks ago. I resisted then, but now I’m back at my desk and the new numbers don’t seem to have gotten much attention. They should!
By Pete Schroeder and Richard Leong
The Trump administration’s hotly anticipated blueprint for overhauling mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may not be published until September as the U.S. Treasury juggles several other pressing issues, the housing regulator told Reuters.
The nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers vigorously condemned today’s action by the National Credit Union Administration, calling the NCUA’s decision to effectively reduce the number of appraisals required for commercial real estate loans irresponsible, radical and dangerous.
“This is an outlandish scenario for anyone who cares about the safety and soundness of the nation’s commercial real estate lending system, and it could recreate conditions that led to the financial crisis of the late 2000s,” said Appraisal Institute President Stephen S. Wagner, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS. “The NCUA’s ill-conceived, damaging decision shows overwhelmingly the need for immediate, rigorous congressional oversight.”
Two Appraisal Institute Designated Members share why they think someone should consider being an appraiser in AI’s latest video.