Appraisal & Consulting

Technology and how it affects the appraiser today - by Tom Whiting

Technology continues to advance relentlessly, and modern real estate appraisers need to keep up or be left behind.

The state of valuation - How changes affect the consumer - by Craig Morley

Since 2005, there have been dramatic changes in real estate valuation starting with Government Sponsored Entities (GSE) introducing a new report form in 2005. In the wake of the “Great Recession” starting in 2007 the “Home Valuation Code of Conduct”

What is affordable housing? There are multiple meanings - by Rose Perrizo

The term “affordable housing” has a number of meanings. One is generic and simply means reasonably priced apartments or homes. In high-priced places like Boston, it essentially refers to any housing that is not high-end, luxury, or built for the very wealthy.

Raising appraisal De minimis: good or bad for the industry? - by Steve Hurlburt

Just recently, the federal regulatory agencies, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury (OCC); board of governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), agreed to raise the appraisal threshold level from $250,000 to $500,000 for commercial real estate appraisals.

Building and developing for supply chain spillover - by David Kirk

Commercial real estate is a residual and derivative of economic activity. At The Counselors 2018 annual meeting in Charleston, S.C. October 20-24, attendees experienced an extraordinary telling of the dramatic impact of jobs, quantum

Too few residential units in Boston, or too many? - by Daniel Calano

Boston is in one of the biggest building booms in its history. The great recession is now about 10 years in the rear view mirror, and although building started slowly, it has now reached historically high peaks.

The timely demise of the MC 1004: A new era for market analysis? - by Bill Pastuszek

The GSEs (aka Fannie and Freddie) recently announced that the addendum to the Appraisal Report known as Market Conditions Addendum Form 71, also known as the MC 1004, no longer needs to be included.

Your next appraiser may have a familiar name - Brian White

Many articles have been written on the aging of the real estate appraisers and the potential lack of residential and commercial appraisers in the near future. Within the past 18 months, both the Appraisal Institute (AI) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) prepared research papers

What we need to know about the Appraisal Standards Board - by Steven Spangle

In order to provide transparency and encourage a broad input of ideas the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) makes no changes to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) without first exposing proposed changes to the public and requesting comments.

Life estates and an approach to valuation - by Marc Nadeau

Inherent in the fee simple ownership of real estate is something that is commonly referred to as the “Bundle of Rights”. The Bundle of Rights is in effect the exclusive right, use and disposition of the property that belong to the property owner.