Appraisals

Nationwide Property & Appraisal Services announced Friday the purchase of Integrity Appraisal Management.

Under guidelines proposed this month, credit unions would see changes in the quality standards for computer-generated appraisal systems, along with when and how financial institutions and consumers can request reconsiderations of value.

Six regulatory agencies are seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would establish best practices for using automated valuation models to assess collateral.

In an amicus brief, the trade group voiced concern over a statement recently provided by government agencies in a lawsuit involving loanDepot.

The agency said it will include home valuation practices in its fair lending review. It's the latest effort by a Washington regulator to root out discriminatory practices in the profession.

The government-sponsored enterprise took the next step towards allowing lenders to implement its property valuation modernization plans.

The filing is the most recent accusation of discrimination in the field, an issue that has drawn attention from the White House last year.

Its "enhanced" oversight procedures now include a multilayered review process and if discriminatory bias is confirmed, an appraiser "will be subject to removal," the department said

During a hearing on racial bias in home valuation, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau questions the Appraisal Foundation's "weird" regulatory structure.

The department wants to make changes to its reconsideration of value process by giving Federal Housing Administration borrowers the opportunity to seek a second appraisal

Methods to combat the discrimination include lender disclosures explaining the process, industry guidance around reconsiderations of value, uniform 3D property scans and more automated valuation models easier to audit than manual valuations.

The option can be efficient but companies have to figure out who will handle the additional property data collection, panelists at the Digital Mortgage Conference said.

A contested home valuation was based on the professional's "racist beliefs" and eschewed industry standards with comparisons of properties away from the majority-white neighborhood, according to the lawsuit.

Automating rent-based underwriting for single-family loans and offering incentives for multifamily borrowers who accept housing vouchers are just two ways Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are tackling the challenge of equitable housing.

Terminated consultants told a news outlet they received mixed messages on bank policy while committing the conduct in question.

The pending budget reconciliation legislation should retain measures meant to support minority homebuyers writes the President of the National Association Of Real Estate Brokers.

But the amount relative to housing costs actually decreased from the previous year.

Lawmakers also asked officials to include more perspectives from Veterans Affairs and USDA representatives and increase focus on manufactured home valuations.