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.”
The NCUA Board of Directors today quadrupled – from $250,000 to $1 million – the appraisal threshold for nonresidential real estate loans. The appraisal threshold is the loan amount below which appraisals are not required. Increasing the threshold would drastically increase the number of nonresidential real estate loans that would not require an appraisal.