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.
By Andrea Riquier
Discount real-estate brokerage Redfin will partner with Opendoor, one of the leading home-buying services, allowing homeowners to get an instant offer when they want to sell with Redfin RDFN, -0.75% , the firms announced Thursday.
Five federal financial regulatory agencies announced on Tuesday that they adopted a final rule to exclude community banks from the Volcker Rule, consistent with the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.
The Volcker Rule generally restricts banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading and from owning, sponsoring, or having certain relationships with hedge funds or private equity funds. Under the final rule, which is unchanged from the proposal, community banks with $10 billion or less in total consolidated assets and total trading assets and liabilities of 5 percent or less of total consolidated assets are excluded from the Volcker Rule.
The Appraisal Subcommittee on July 9 granted a request from North Dakota for a temporary waiver from appraisal licensing requirements after state officials claimed a scarcity of appraisers. The ASC granted the one-year waiver from licensing requirements by a 5-2 vote; an additional year is possible if state officials again seek a waiver based on the scarcity argument.
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council still needs to approve the decision, which is expected to happen at its meeting later this month. It’s important to note that the temporary waiver is not a waiver from appraisals, but from appraisal licensing requirements. All appraisals still need to comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
The waiver will cover both residential and commercial appraisals; however, the residential waiver could be sunset 60 days after banking regulators raise the appraisal threshold, if they choose to do so. A decision by the regulators on the threshold could come as soon as this month.
During the ASC’s special meeting, North Dakota Appraisal Board Chair Corey Kost, MAI, argued against granting the temporary waiver, citing no evidence of a scarcity of appraisers. He also argued that Congress has already addressed this issue with the rural appraisal waiver granted in the regulatory relief bill signed by President Trump last year.
The Appraisal Institute designated 58 members in June, including; 1 who received MAI AND SRA designations; and 40 who received MAI designations; 3 who received SRA designations; 12 who received AI-GRS designations; 2 who received AI-RRS designations.
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For many Americans, the ultimate summertime fantasy has less to do with washboard abs and a killer tan than owning their own piece of beachfront real estate — aka bliss. From Memorial Day through Labor Day (and beyond), beach lovers across the U.S. find themselves dreaming of escaping the hellish deadlines, soul-sucking commutes, and humdrum daily grind — and trading it all in for salty ocean breezes, caipirinhas on the sand, and fresh lobster rolls from a seafood joint around the corner.
Now just imagine doing it from your very own place.
By Matthew Classick
The Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group downgraded its projections for full-year 2019 and 2020 U.S. economic growth to 2.1 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, due to expected weakness in business fixed investment and softening global economic conditions. The ESR Group had previously forecast growth of 2.3 percent in 2019 and 1.8 percent in 2020. The ESR Group now projects that the Federal Reserve will cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points at the September meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee to fend off greater deceleration in domestic growth.
