The National Nominating Committee seeks the names of members interested in serving as the 2026 Vice President of the Appraisal Institute. The 2026 Vice President succeeds to the offices of 2027 President-Elect, 2028 President, and 2029 Immediate Past President.

If you are interested in serving or would like to recommend an individual who meets the qualifications for the position, please email your written recommendation to Sandra Adomatis, SRA, who will serve as Chair of the 2025 National Nominating Committee, c/o Joan Barngrover at [email protected]. All recommendations must be received by February 6, 2025, 5:00 p.m. CT. The National Nominating Committee will contact potential candidates with the requirements for continuing the process.

Originally published on December 13, 2024 by The Appraisal Institute.

A study on the use of time adjustments by appraisers conducted by two researchers at the Federal Housing Finance Agency in November contains serious flaws that misrepresent the appraisal process and further demonize the appraisal profession regarding racial bias.

The study, Underappraisal Disparities and Time Adjustments to Comparable Sales Prices in Mortgage Appraisals, contends that appraised values often fail to reflect rapidly increasing home prices in competitive markets. It further raises housing equity concerns, claiming that time adjustments are used less to cure “underappraisal” in majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods than in major White neighborhoods. The study suggests appraisers should use automated valuation models, and lenders should randomly assign appraisal orders to mitigate bias.

For one, the assumption that appraisals should ideally mirror the pace of rising market prices oversimplifies the role of appraisers and the appraisal process. The study does not sufficiently account for the complexity of making time adjustments in markets with uneven price growth or where transaction volumes are low, limiting the availability of comparable sales.

Read More

Originally published on November 19, 2024 by The Appraisal Institute.

The Appraisal Institute is pleased to announce the release of A Guide to Appraising Religious Properties by Bradley R. Carter, MAI, a leading authority in the field of property valuation. This pivotal new book offers a comprehensive look into the field of appraising religious properties, providing invaluable insights amid the evolving landscape of real estate and religious institutions.

Originally published on May 10, 2024, by the Appraisal Institute. 

The Appraisal Institute, the leading association of real estate appraisers, released highlights of its Second Quarter Board Meetings, May 9-10, 2024. Chief Executive Cindy Chance, PhD, updated the Board on organizational change, progress and challenges since the first quarter meeting in late February. President Sandy Adomatis, SRA, chaired the meeting at which the Board deliberated on a number of topics with the goal of serving its mission and members’ interests.

Originally published in December 2023, by the Appraisal Institute.

Learn More

Originally published on October 31, 2023, by Ella Fertitta for ULI Americas.

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PwC US today released Emerging Trends in Real Estate® 2024, the annual industry-leading report unveiling critical data and trends in the real estate sector. In its 45th edition, the report’s overarching theme is “The Great Reset,” determining that the industry must form new ‘norms’ and can no longer rely on past benchmarks to determine how the market will function in the future.

Originally published in May 2023 by the National Association of Realtors.

In May 2023, NAR surveyed its members pertaining to data collectors in the appraisal process. The findings are as follows:

• Sales agents accounted for the largest proportion, with 45% of participants holding this license. Brokers followed with 24%, and appraisal-certified professionals comprised 14% of the respondents. Broker-Associates and Appraisal Licensees accounted for 13% and two percent, respectively, while the remaining two percent reported holding other types of real estate licenses.

Read More

Originally published on September 15, 2023, by the Face Value Appraisal Insitute Podcast.

The Appraisal Institute on Aug. 31 released its latest episode of the Face Value podcast, “Dedication to Diversity: A Conversation About the Appraiser Diversity Initiative.” Hosts Tonia Vailas, MAI, AI-GRS, and Warren Boizot, SRA, AI-RRS, are joined by Smedmore Bernard Jr., MAI, Brent Quashie and Elana Wroten to share their experiences and the advice they have for others. Additionally, they talk about the new William S. Harps DEI Award.

Originally published on September 12, 2023, by the Appraisal Institute. 

The Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers, announced today that the organization’s Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal program (AI PAREA) for the licensed residential path has launched broadly, and registration is now open.

Originally published on May 18, 2023, by the Appraisal Institute.

The Appraisal Institute announced today that the Appraiser Qualifications Board has provided approval of AI’s Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal program for the licensed residential path.

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.

Originally published on January 11, 2023, by Li-Ning Huang and Mark Palim for Fannie Mae.

In recent discussions of our economic outlook, we have been asked multiple times why home sales dropped so sharply this past year given a pronounced preference shift among consumers during the pandemic toward single-family housing. Indeed, single-family housing was an unintended beneficiary of the pandemic and its associated policy response. During the pandemic, mortgage rates reached historically low levels, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovering around 3 percent through the end of 2021. Despite a low inventory-to-sales ratio during this time period by historical standards, as well as rising home prices, both home sales and purchase mortgage originations reached record highs in 2021.1 Anecdotal and analytical evidence suggest that the pandemic prompted people to move from smaller housing units in high-density city centers to larger homes in lower-density areas; and this was particularly true of first-time homebuyers.2 Overall, the rise in home sales was fueled by both first-time homebuyers and move-up buyers. In fact, demand was so strong that the median number of days that homes were on the market shortened from 74 in 2017 to 46 in 2021.

Read More

Originally published on November 30, 2022, by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Residential sales fell during the past month amid high interest rates, dropping moderately in some parts of the country but much more steeply in others, the Federal Reserve reported Nov. 30 in its latest Beige Book. Commercial sales and leasing have also softened, and vacancies continue to climb.

The Appraisal Institute on Dec. 1 released its latest episode of the Face Value podcast, “AI PAREA: Opportunities for Future Appraisers and Mentors.” Host Warren Boizot, SRA, AI-RRS, talks with AI Vice President Sandy Adomatis, SRA, about how AI professionals with an MAI or SRA designation can get involved as mentors and the many opportunities available to aspiring appraisers.

Listen Now

Originally published on November 17, 2022 by th Appraisal Institute.

The Appraisal Institute announced today that CEO Jim Amorin, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, will resign effective Feb. 14, 2023. He will conclude five years of service as the organization’s CEO and is moving on to pursue other opportunities.

Originally published on November 16, 2022, by the Appraisal Institute.

The Appraisal Institute Board of Directors voted to adopt one 45-Day Notice item during its Nov. 10-11 meeting in Chicago. The 45-Day Notice item addresses proposed amendments to the Bylaws regarding the International Member on the Board as set forth in the 45-Day Notice distributed to Designated Members, Candidates, Practicing Affiliates, and Affiliates on Sept. 26.

The Appraisal Institute on Sept. 23 released its latest episode of the Face Value podcast, “Lender Work for Appraisers: Facts, Myths and Opportunities.” Host Warren Boizot, SRA, AI-RRS, is joined by Michelle Rogers, SRA, and Ken Dicks, MAI, for a conversation on ways in which appraisers and lenders can successfully work together. They share their personal experiences in this area and offer advice and tips from the field.

Listen Now

Originally published on September 21, 2022 by Matthew Classick for Fannie Mae.

Economic growth is projected to resume in the second half of 2022, but the combination of high inflation, monetary policy tightening, and a slowing housing market is likely to tip the economy into a modest recession in the new year, according to the September 2022 commentary from the Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group. The ESR Group continues to forecast 0.0 percent real GDP growth on a full-year basis through 2022, but it revised downward its expectations for full-year 2023 growth by one-tenth of a percentage point to negative 0.5 percent. Core inflation remains considerably higher than the Federal Reserve’s stated target; as such, the ESR Group maintained its expectation that the Federal Open Market Committee will raise the federal funds rate by 75 basis points at its September meeting. The ESR Group’s baseline forecast anticipates the federal funds rate topping out at a range of 3.50 to 3.75 percent in early 2023, though it sees significant upside risk to the eventual terminal rate.

Read More

Originally published on September 19, 2022, by Michael Tucker for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Institutional investors are lowering their real estate return expectations, the Pension Real Estate Association reported.

Originally published on August 11, 2022, for the Appraisal Foundation.

On August 11, 2022, The Appraisal Foundation’s Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) announced that the current edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) would be extended by one additional year. The 2020-2021 USPAP will now be effective until December 31, 2023.