Is anyone busy?

[swandel1]

In AZ, business was very good Oct - now. East Coast works a bit different - I started in CT.

Rumor has it that many appraisers have retired as of 12/31/25 due to 3.6, leaving a total of 30k residential appraisers across the US.

You can look up the waiver usage, which traditionally hasn't been very high. A lot of the year end work is helocs, which are the biggest users of waivers. I expect the number of waivers to increase coming when 3.6 kicks in as no one will want to pay higher appraisal costs and wait the additional time for the reports to be completed. Assuming that the GSEs don't delay the roll-out of 3.6, we will all be busy soon.

I also opine that we are still seeing the residuals of the bad monetary policy of the previous gov't administration. That stagnant sales thing is still around - people not wanting to ditch the 3% mortgage for a 6%+ mortgage. The ones that are willing to ditch the low mortgage have already done so. Some talking heads are predicting up to 4 rate cuts Q1 + Q2 this year; which, if true, should help with work volume. They say 5% rate is the magic number.

 

[jay trotta]

In AZ, business was very good Oct - now. East Coast works a bit different - I started in CT.

Rumor has it that many appraisers have retired as of 12/31/25 due to 3.6, leaving a total of 30k residential appraisers across the US.

You can look up the waiver usage, which traditionally hasn't been very high. A lot of the year end work is helocs, which are the biggest users of waivers. I expect the number of waivers to increase coming when 3.6 kicks in as no one will want to pay higher appraisal costs and wait the additional time for the reports to be completed. Assuming that the GSEs don't delay the roll-out of 3.6, we will all be busy soon.

I also opine that we are still seeing the residuals of the bad monetary policy of the previous gov't administration. That stagnant sales thing is still around - people not wanting to ditch the 3% mortgage for a 6%+ mortgage. The ones that are willing to ditch the low mortgage have already done so. Some talking heads are predicting up to 4 rate cuts Q1 + Q2 this year; which, if true, should help with work volume. They say 5% rate is the magic number.

The average gasoline price in Connecticut has seen a 1.1 cents per gallon increase in the last week, averaging $3.04 per gallon. This is a 3.1 cents per gallon increase from a month ago and a 55.4 cents per gallon increase from a year ago. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 6.9 cents per gallon from a month ago and 41.0 cents per gallon from a year ago. The cheapest station in Connecticut was priced at $2.74, while the most expensive was $3.77, a difference of $1.03.

GasBuddy

Guess we have a Red States vs Blue State gas war under the present admin. and so goes the battle. As for housing, those who benefitted on the C19 low rates will determine when & if they want to downsize or give up those rates. As noted, several times, during C19 throwing money at a problem was & is not a solution and those who believe thay are leaders have failed the American Public, Hugely by not having an end run plan in place.
IMO- throwing everything at the wall (current admin) with no end result or plan, will only make the "whole" deeper to dig out of in the end. Health care is a sheit show, along with other problems and have yet to see any offer of a solution.

 

[swandel1]

The average gasoline price in Connecticut has seen a 1.1 cents per gallon increase in the last week, averaging $3.04 per gallon. This is a 3.1 cents per gallon increase from a month ago and a 55.4 cents per gallon increase from a year ago. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 6.9 cents per gallon from a month ago and 41.0 cents per gallon from a year ago. The cheapest station in Connecticut was priced at $2.74, while the most expensive was $3.77, a difference of $1.03.

GasBuddy

Guess we have a Red States vs Blue State gas war under the present admin. and so goes the battle. As for housing, those who benefitted on the C19 low rates will determine when & if they want to downsize or give up those rates. As noted, several times, during C19 throwing money at a problem was & is not a solution and those who believe thay are leaders have failed the American Public, Hugely by not having an end run plan in place.
IMO- throwing everything at the wall (current admin) with no end result or plan, will only make the "whole" deeper to dig out of in the end. Health care is a sheit show, along with other problems and have yet to see any offer of a solution.

Yep - too many obstructionists in government for any truly meaningful work to get accomplished. And we keep re-electing these idiots!!

 

[Joe Flacco]

It has been steady but not that busy since the summer. Around 10+/- per month since July. Spring was kind of busy. Averaged 16 per month from March through June.

Every month in 2025 was better than the same month in 2024 though. We will see if the trend continues in 2026.

 

[Alsie35]

Still getting 7-10 a week down here ... lots of 2055s, some purchases, some HELOC appraisals, and some refinances of rentals that flippers couldn't sell the past few years due to high interest rates.... helps to have built up a very large client base ... I don't know about many appraisers having retired as of December 31st, but I do know that a whole lot of us will retire once the 3.6 Abomination is fully implemented, including yours truly.

 

[Vermonter]

Every month in 2025 was better than the same month in 2024 though. We will see if the trend continues in 2026.

Same here except the screeching halt came mid October and just barely picked up again this week.

 

[Joe Flacco]

Same here except the screeching halt came mid October and just barely picked up again this week.

It's the holidays so not really unusual.

I did nine in November and eight in December, but I also had some billings on a court case those months that gave me a boost.

 

[HVNY]

It's not called "appraisal waiver" anymore. It's called "value acceptance".

 

[gregb]

Twelve in December and 6 in November, average fee @ $900. Working part time means less stress and more time for me and the kids.

 

[HVNY]

Still digging out from November, have 12 to write still and about 5 to inspect. Mostly non lender stuff.