Appraiser Income

Chris Connors, SRA, of the Appraisal Institute’s Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area Chapter, was featured May 2 in The Washington Post, the nation’s 8th largest newspaper, in a consumer-focused article on whether sellers should obtain a professional appraisal before putting a house on the market.

The story reached a potential audience of more than 8.2 million subscribers and unique monthly online visitors.

Sellers and agents may not always agree on market price, so a full professional appraisal can be an important reality check for the seller. The article noted that Connors had finished an appraisal on a house where the seller previously had interviewed two real estate agents. The first agent suggested an asking price around $800,000; the second one recommended a price closer to $1.1 million.

“The seller was quite angry with me when my report supported the first estimate, and I told him the other guy just wanted to get the listing.” Connors said.

Also featured in national media coverage this past week were Eric Haims, MAI, and Daniel Aarons, Associate member, in Real Estate Weekly; Mark Linné, MAI, SRA, on FoxBusiness.com; and Joni Pilgrim, Affiliate member, in National Mortgage Professional Magazine.

These stories are among the recent media coverage included in the “AI in the News” feature on the members-only section of the Appraisal Institute website.

Appraisal Institute members appearing recently in local media coverage include Paul Carter, MAI, SRA, and Michael Clapp, MAI, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal; Steven Berg, MAI, SRA, Foster’s Daily Democrat, Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald and Chicago Tribune; John Brown, MAI, Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard; Thomas Dehn, SRA, Stuart (Fla.) News; Kevin Talbott, SRA, Key West (Fla.) Citizen; Ed Morse, MAI, Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.); Darrel Standard, Associate member, Beatrice (Neb.) Daily Sun; Mark Kenney, MAI, Lower Hudson Valley (N.Y.) Journal News; Claud Clark, Associate member, Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register; Cindy Carroll, SRA, Marco (Fla.) Eagle; Randolph Glennon, MAI, Mainebiz.com; Gary Crabtree, SRA, KGET-17 (NBC) and KBAK-29 (CBS), Bakersfield, Calif.; and Richard Hagar, SRA, KPLU-FM 88.5 (Seattle).

See the latest media coverage about the real estate valuation profession, the Appraisal Institute and its members. Media coverage at “AI in the News,” found on the member log-in page of the Appraisal Institute’s website, is updated daily and also includes the latest news releases from the Appraisal Institute.

Original Article : http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/ano/newsletter/DisplayNwsLtrArticle.aspx?volume=13&numbr=9/10&id=17818

Fed: Excessive Optimism

A report released May 2 from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston contends that the mortgage meltdown was more the result of “overly optimistic beliefs” than extensive negligence among mortgage originators and investors.

According to the report, part of what led to the housing market crash was widespread euphoria over rising home prices among banks, investors and homeowners — all who underestimated growing risks.

The report also noted that borrowers overextended themselves to buy the largest houses they could afford, believing that prices would continue to climb. “Rising house prices generate large capital gains for home purchasers,” the report noted. “They also raise the value of the collateral backing mortgages, and thus reduce or eliminate credit losses for lenders.”

The report further contended that adjustable-rate mortgages were not responsible for increased mortgage defaults, noting that ARMs originated in 2006 had a much higher delinquency rate than those originated in 2005 despite a less severe payment shock. Additionally, data showed that 84 percent of delinquent borrowers who ended up in foreclosure had missed payments that were equal to what they were paying at mortgage origination.

The report called the foreclosure crisis “a consequence of distorted beliefs rather than distorted incentives.” The report also noted “a collective mania about house prices, rather than individual malfeasance on the part of mortgage industry insiders, may be the best explanation for why the foreclosure crisis occurred.”

Read the complete Fed report.

Original Story: http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/ano/newsletter/DisplayNwsLtrArticle.aspx?volume=13&numbr=9/10&id=17866

CoreLogic announced May 8 that it will close its CoreLogic Valuation Services business unit, the firm’s appraisal management company based in Danvers, Mass. All business operations at the AMC will be discontinued on or before Sept. 30.

The company said its decision will not impact any joint-venture appraisal businesses.

“We do not anticipate any immediate impact to our appraiser panel,” CoreLogic announced. “In the short-run, as we begin to transition to our new business model, we will continue to accept appraisal orders from our customers and will focus on completing all outstanding orders in a timely manner.” The company said that currently there are no changes in the way panel members receive, complete or submit appraisal orders.

“Our appraiser panel is critical to our success as a business, and we remain committed to our partnership with each of our panel members,” the company stated.

CoreLogic said that additional information would be announced in the near future.

original story:
http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/ano/newsletter/DisplayNwsLtrArticle.aspx?volume=13&numbr=9/10&id=17869