Appraisal Volume

[Terrel L. Shields]

I exceeded my last year number of appraisals earlier this month. Things are steady when you are dealing outside the secondary market mortgage industry. Community banks still lend - often much shorter term the 30-year FNMA or FHA loans.

 

[sputnam]

I have been as busy as ever. I do think there was a general slowdown. The appraiser who kept working are those that did what they agreed to do. That is... delivered reports that rarely or never needed revision and delivered them on time.

 

[RSW]

Interest rates had fallen to around 6% and then there was a spike of about 1% a few weeks ago to 7%+-. We have been feeling the effects of that increase for a few weeks. Rates did drop about 1/4% last week and we should see a slight increase in business in the next week or two.

 

[Tom D]

Dream on, dream on about being busy like before. And who is going to refi when they have below, or have bought below 4%.
I can always tell the new appraiser here, they haven't gone thru the drought times. This time is the last time of busy appraiser looking at the future. I do remember that there were some sales and refi after a low boom. There are too many appraisers looking for the last apple in the barrel.

 

[NC Appraising]

I have been as busy as ever. I do think there was a general slowdown. The appraiser who kept working are those that did what they agreed to do. That is... delivered reports that rarely or never needed revision and delivered them on time.

I agree. I'll add do not reject orders. For most AMCs you have to keep your fees low. At some AMCs fees do not matter. It's all about no rejections, turn time and do not decline orders.

Most AMCs have around 5 appraisers that gets most of the work....the highest score. The top three are busy and only felt a slight slowdown. Unfortunately, most AMCs are not part of a round robin system.

This is why I tell appraisers not to accept the complex appraisals, at any price, that there top appraisers will not do. Don't take the scraps.


So if you are a urban/suburban appraiser and are not part of the top 5 you are slow.

If you are slow now, wait until q1 of 2025....Google appraisal waivers 97% fannie mae.

 

[J Grant]

I got busy again, but it ebbs and flows.

Wake up people - even if we get spurts of business, due to WAIVERS taking away approx 30% or more of volume ( my estimate, the figures on it keep changing ) due to that and the influx of PRD reports if a hybrid is chosen, even a busy spurt will be less lucrative. With the new regime into deregulation and getting rid of -uh, people like ourselves, consider what might unfold. We are the enemy - even if you voted for him-appraisers are part of the swamp, pesky Karens standing in the way of profit., Musk can decide that we are inefficient and whip out an AI program to replace us, and with the fed agencies shut or neutered, nobody is left to stand up to it. This prediction might never occur - but there is volatility out there now regardless- Fannie Freddie might be dropped from receivership, etc. Make whatever $ you can in the next few years - there might be an enduring need, one hopes for niche and complex/high end but that pool of work is limited.

A very determined newbie might thrive if they continue to learn and enlarge their skills. than if they remain an expendable mediocre appraiser-

 

[alebrewer]

I exceeded my last year number of appraisals earlier this month. Things are steady when you are dealing outside the secondary market mortgage industry. Community banks still lend - often much shorter term the 30-year FNMA or FHA loans.

When I was at a group that did both CRE and residential, many of our smaller bank clients would run out of CRE money in late fall. Not sure if any of your clients experience that or not?

 

[NC Appraising]

I spoke with a regional manager at a credit union. They laid off most of their staff last year and almost closed down their lending side. Within the past several months they are slowly hiring staff as volume picked back up.

The majority of the work is with the top online lenders.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Revision requests come whether you do a good job or not. Revision requests I see: Please address the contract amendment we did not provide you, Please change the buyer names to add the one we left off the order, please correct the owner name to something other than public records (order and tax records say Roger XXXX, revision request says Dale Roger XXXX), please change the lot size to match the survey we just received, please address the snow in the attic (white insulation), please add/remove borrower name, please address this or that already in the report on the form, not in some useless addenda page, please address something they see in the pictures that is harmless, etc.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

The majority of the work is with the top online lenders.

...who tend to avoid rural property. The small local banks take up that slack.