FHFA Must Step Up Efforts to Combat Appraisal Bias: Report

Originally published on December 23, 2022, by James Kleimann by the Housing Wire.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) isn’t doing all that it can to prevent appraisal bias, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

In a report issued on Wednesday, the watchdog said the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which itself published a report that drew attention to racial bias claims in December 2021, should notify state regulators and licensing authorities when it finds cases of appraisal bias. It should also alert regulators and licensing authorities when it files complaints against appraisals, the OIG said.

The OIG found that the FHFA in 2022 made 17 referrals and provided 25.6 million active appraisal records to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), but did not take further action.

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