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Federal Banking Agencies Defer Some Appraisals, Evaluations

The federal banking agencies on April 14 issued an interim final rule to temporarily defer appraisals and evaluations under the agencies' interagency appraisal regulations. Certain appraisals and evaluations for residential and commercial properties are deferred for up to 120 days after closing a loan transaction. The interim rule excludes transactions involving acquisition, development, and construction of real estate.

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GSEs, Agencies Issue Coronavirus Guidance for Appraisers

The government-sponsored enterprises, agencies and other policymakers have all issued valuation guidance since March 23 to help clarify how appraisers can perform their work during the coronavirus pandemic, and all new guidance is available on the Appraisal Institute’s coronavirus page. 
 
Recent activity includes:
  • The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced March 23 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will ease standards for both property appraisals and employment verification. Specifically, the FHFA said appraisal alternatives will be used to prevent appraisers from having to inspect a home’s interior.
  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced March 27 that it is making modifications to the re-verification of employment and Acceptable Appraisal Reporting Forms and Protocols for Federal Housing Administration loans by allowing exceptions for exterior-only and desktop appraisal inspections in certain transactions.
  • The Department of Veterans Affairs announced March 27 that it will allow appraisers to perform exterior-only appraisals with enhanced assignment conditions or, in limited instances, a desktop appraisal.
  • The Department of Agriculture announced March 27 that it is granting lenders temporary exceptions pertaining to appraisals, repair inspections and income verification for the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. The exceptions are in effect for a 60-day period.
Find more information on the Appraisal Institute’s coronavirus page

New NCAI COVID-19 Resources Webpage

The North Carolina Chapter of the Appraisal Institute (NCAI) continues to monitor developments regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. The health and safety of our members and event participants is of the highest importance and we are taking this outbreak very seriously.  

In an effort for us all to stay informed, NCAI has created a COVID-19 Resources Webpage that provides the latest news regarding the COVID-19 situation at the state, national, and industry levels. 

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AI Issues Coronavirus-related Direction for Appraisers

The Appraisal Institute issued guidance cultivated from its Professional Practice staff on March 16 to help AI professionals and other real estate valuers serve their clients during the rapidly evolving global coronavirus pandemic.

“Appraisers should take care not to put themselves in harm’s way while completing their assignments,” the guidance said, which directed appraisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s current risk assessment.

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Appraisal Institute Seeks Guidance from Policy Makers

The Appraisal Institute announced March 18 that it is aggressively engaging all primary appraisal policy makers to help guide appraisers during the coronavirus pandemic. AI expects some guidance to be released as early as this week about exterior-only and/or desktop appraisals for loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Representatives of the Appraisal Institute have raised appraisers’ concerns regarding property inspections and appraisal waivers and exemptions, seeking a measured or balanced approach to risk mitigation.

So far, most policy discussions have focused on credit issues over collateral concerns and on servicing over loan purchasing issues to keep people who will be facing financial hardship in their homes during the coming weeks and months. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, has begun to engage on appraisal-related issues with many additional issues requiring solutions, including determining how loans will close in areas where courthouses are closed and there are no e-closing procedures, a situation that reportedly affects 20% of the country.

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Coronavirus and the CRE Effect

By Michael Tucker

The real estate impact of coronavirus will likely be limited in the short-term, but it could grow should the virus aggressively spread, analysts said.

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NCAI Statement on COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Updated 3/23/2020

The North Carolina Chapter of the Appraisal Institute (NCAI) is closely monitoring developments regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. The health and safety of our members and event participants is of the highest importance and we are taking this outbreak very seriously. The Charlotte 7-Hour USPAP Update class, scheduled for March 19, and the Greensboro 7-Hour USPAP Update class, scheduled for March 26, are cancelled. Refunds will be provided.

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Wide Range of Big-Box Values Raises Concerns: The Appraisal Journal

Courts, market participants and valuation professionals have expressed widespread concern about the broad range in real estate values presented by opposing litigation experts regarding single-tenant, big-box properties, according to an article 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.

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Industrial Sector’s Big Box Segment Sees Strong First Half, Colliers Data Reveals

By Barbra Murray

The first half of 2019 proved to be yet another strong period in the big-box segment of the industrial sector, and despite certain challenges, more of the same is the likely scenario for the remainder of the year, according to Colliers’ 2019 midyear big-box market report.

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Rise in Co-working Spaces May Make Next Recession Worse, Boston Fed Reports

By Ann Saphir

The rise in co-working spaces, like those offered by WeWork, may be a source of financial instability that could make the next U.S. recession worse by sparking a run on commercial real estate, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said.

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Appraisers Can Help Clients Navigate Natural Disasters, Appraisal Institute Says

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.

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Residential Real Estate Prices Up; Homeownership Tenure Reaches New Peak: Data

 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.

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'iBuyer' Service Alters Selling Process, Cuts Some Requirements

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.

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International Valuation Standards Council Updates Standards, Effective January 2020

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. 

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New AI Video: AI Media Coverage Seen by Nearly 1 Billion

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.

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Jody Bishop Elected 2020 Appraisal Institute Vice President

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.

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Demand Grows for Midsize Industrial Space: Avison Young

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.

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Multifamily Buildings Getting Bigger, Middle of the Market is Missing: Census Bureau

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!

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AI Condemns NCUA Action Quadrupling Appraisal Threshold

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.”

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Video: Reasons to Pursue a Valuation Career

 

Two Appraisal Institute Designated Members share why they think someone should consider being an appraiser in AI’s latest video.

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