Appraiser Income

On average, home buyers are willing to pay an additional $8,728 upfront on a home in order to save $1,000 a year in utility bills, according to NAHB’s recently released study, What Home Buyers Really Want (2019 Edition) (Figure 1). The study is based on a survey asking recent and prospective home buyers (people who bought homes in the previous three years or are planning to do so in the next three years) about what they want in a home and community.

It is important to note that while the average amount a home buyer is willing to pay is $8,728, the median is $5,000. The difference can be explained by the presence of some very green-motivated home buyers who are willing to pay more than $50,000 upfront to save $1,000 a year. It may also be the case that these particular home buyers have the means to make a bigger upfront payment. In fact, the study shows that home buyers who expect to pay more than $500,000 for their homes will pay an average of $10,560 more to achieve those savings, about 60 percent more than the $6,653 those buying the most modest homes (less than $150,000) are willing to pay.

An equivalent way to present this information is in terms of the rate of return a buyer requires on the up-front investment.  If a buyer is willing to pay $5,000 up front to save $1,000 a year, this means the buyer requires an annual return of 20 percent.

For more valuable data on green features and what home buyers are willing to trade off, please visit BuilderBooks.com and download the latest edition of What Home Buyers Really Want.

Historically, purchase mortgages have performed better than refinance mortgages, or “refis,” defaulting less often. But changes made in response to widespread appraisal bias during the crisis have improved the industry’s risk assessment and management abilities overall and, accordingly, have decreased the expected default rate on all mortgages.

We looked at the data and concluded that these improvements have reduced the difference in how purchase and refi mortgages perform. And while the models used in FHA, Fannie and Freddie underwriting systems are not public, our results suggest an update may be in order.

Reducing appraisal bias

The pervasive belief that appraisal bias, especially towards no-transaction refinances, was a significant contributor to the great financial crisis lead to a significant re-evaluation of the appraisal process after the crisis. Appraisals undergo much greater scrutiny today, and the GSEs commonly check these numbers against values generated from automated valuation models (AVMs).  AVMs use mathematical modeling, drawing on a huge database of recent transactions, complete with property characteristics, to generate an estimated sales prices.

Overview

• Open & closing datesOpening and closing dates 04/18/2019 to 05/02/2019
• ServiceCompetitive
• Pay scale & gradeGS 12
• Salary$74,937 to $110,224 per yearAlbuquerque, NM: $74,937-$94,422, Phoenix, AZ: $77,130-$100,273, San Diego, CA: $83,063-$107,986, Los Angeles, CA: $84,785-$110,224
• Appointment typePermanent
• Work scheduleFull-Time

Locations

1 vacancy in the following locations:

• Phoenix, AZPhoenix, AZ
• Los Angeles, CALos Angeles, CA
• San Diego, CASan Diego, CA
• Albuquerque, NMAlbuquerque, NM

Relocation expenses reimbursed

Yes You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy. Permanent change of Station may be paid in accordance with agency policy and if it’s at the best interest of the government.

Telework eligible

Yes as determined by agency policy

This job is open to

• The publicU.S. citizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told shareholders this week that the U.S. housing finance system is “desperately” in need of reform, and claimed that the housing market’s status quo of the last several years left at least $1 trillion in mortgages on the table.

Dimon made those claims in his yearly letter to shareholders, where he comments on both the bank and the country’s overall financial picture.

Dimon is no stranger to using these letters to call for sweeping reforms. Two years ago, Dimon said that if certain mortgage lending and servicing reforms were put in place, there could be an increase of $300 billion in originations per year. The year before that, Dimon claimed that originating mortgages was basically a losing proposition for the bank, but said that Chase continued to lend for the good of its customers.

One year ago this week, I was in Montgomery County, Tennessee to break ground for a new data center in Clarksville. It was clear from the excitement at the event that the jobs and economic investment meant a great deal to the community. I’ve seen that same optimism in communities around the country that are helping to power our digital economy. And I’m proud to say that our U.S. footprint is growing rapidly: In the last year, we’ve hired more than 10,000 people in the U.S. and made over $9 billion in investments. Our expansion across the U.S. has been crucial to finding great new talent, improving the services that people use every day, and investing in our business.

Today we’re announcing over $13 billion in investments throughout 2019 in data centers and offices across the U.S., with major expansions in 14 states. These new investments will give us the capacity to hire tens of thousands of employees, and enable the creation of more than 10,000 new construction jobs in Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia. With this new investment, Google will now have a home in 24 total states, including data centers in 13 communities. 2019 marks the second year in a row we’ll be growing faster outside of the Bay Area than in it.

A federal appeals court sided with Zillow in a long-running lawsuit over the accuracy and marketing of the real estate giant’s controversial Zestimate tool.

A group of homeowners in Illinois sued Zillow in 2017, alleging that the Zestimate tool is often inaccurate and difficult to get changed, and that Zillow markets it as roughly equivalent to an appraisal. The homeowners argued that the tool undervalued their homes and made it harder for them to sell.

The homeowners appealed the case last year after their claims were twicedismissed. In a brief opinion, The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately agreed with the judges’ prior rulings.

The court found that Zillow is honest about labeling Zestimate as only an estimate, not an appraisal. The process is most accurate “when errors are not biased to favor sellers or buyers,” so Zillow shouldn’t have to change Zestimate values when they come in lower than what homeowners expect, Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote in the opinion.

MCLEAN, Va., March 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey^® (PMMS^®), showing that mortgage rates dropped with the beginning of spring homebuying season.

Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, says, “Mortgage rates have dipped quite dramatically since the start of the year and house prices continue to moderate, which should help on the homebuyer affordability front. The combination of improving affordability and more inventory than the last few spring selling seasons should lead to improved home sales demand.”

News Facts

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.28 percent with an average 0.4 point for the week ending March 21, 2019, down from last week when it averaged 4.31 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.45 percent. 
• 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.71 percent with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.76 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.91 percent. 
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.84 percent with an average 0.3 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.68 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following link for the Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.