Sunday, September 18, 2011

Low home appraisals hurting housing recovery, agents say - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Low home appraisals hurting housing recovery, agents say - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
A May 2009 law required that appraisers work independently and without undue influence from mortgage brokers, lenders and real estate agents. Mortgage fraud prosecutors say the overhaul was necessary to curtail conflicts of interest and bloated estimates that contributed to the housing debacle.

More than two years later, real estate professionals say the change has inadvertently led to innaccurate appraisals, which is delaying a housing recovery.

"This requirement is costing everybody, including the consumer, because we're not getting quality appraisals," said Tim Singer of Coldwell Banker in Fort Lauderdale.

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Here's how I translate this from RealEstateSpeak to English: "The boom in housing prices that you all loved so much was fueled in large part by bogus appraisals that allowed the whole nation to fantasize about endlessly-increasing property values, without limit. Now appraisers are being confined to boring old reality. If you want your house to increase in value, let us go back to making things up."

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