Appraisal Institute Last-minute Shakeup

[Non Sequitur]

"To better utilize our real estate assets and reduce operating costs, the Appraisal Institute is moving forward with a sublease of our current office space. This initiative will generate significant savings over the remaining term of our lease while positioning us more efficiently for the future.

As part of this transition, we will be relocating to a smaller, more efficient space within the same building. The new configuration supports improved team collaboration and offers more convenient co-locating options, helping to reduce commuting time for staff in the Chicagoland area."

Same building but reduced commuting time? Anyway, ladies and gents this is why membership should demand financial transparency. It may be a responsible financial decision, it may be a sign of financial instability. But without transparency membership will never know. And be sure to renew membership before Jan 6 to get the discount for a seminar that's nearly half-way over.

 

[glenn walker]

Yo

I wonder how many more members they’d have right now had they not fired Cindy. Definitely hundreds. Possibly over a thousand?

Oh what might have been.

You didn't join with or without Cindy )

 

[chad hampton]

Yo
You didn't join with or without Cindy )

I don’t think you remember what things were like in 2024 with regards to AI. For the first time ever, real working appraisers were loving what they heard from Cindy. I had all my **** filled out ready to go after Val expo in 24. Then we came back and heard the rumblings. Glad I never cut that check.

How about you?

 

[RCA]

"To better utilize our real estate assets and reduce operating costs, the Appraisal Institute is moving forward with a sublease of our current office space. This initiative will generate significant savings over the remaining term of our lease while positioning us more efficiently for the future.

As part of this transition, we will be relocating to a smaller, more efficient space within the same building. The new configuration supports improved team collaboration and offers more convenient co-locating options, helping to reduce commuting time for staff in the Chicagoland area."

Same building but reduced commuting time? Anyway, ladies and gents this is why membership should demand financial transparency. It may be a responsible financial decision, it may be a sign of financial instability. But without transparency membership will never know. And be sure to renew membership before Jan 6 to get the discount for a seminar that's nearly half-way over.

"co-locating options"; That's small, shared office space for workers to come in just a couple of times per week.

So the AI is getting hard-up for cash, and now they decide to let employees work from home. Probably out of necessity if they are having a hard time attracting talent. This allows employees to move further away from Chicago, where they can find lower-cost housing and thus boost their net wages after housing costs.

 

[Dale Floyd]

I think all large appraisal organizations are doing that same thing. Fewer members is going to show up in the numbers at some point.

 

[RCA]

I think all large appraisal organizations are doing that same thing. Fewer members is going to show up in the numbers at some point.

Note: It's too late for me to write - so excuse the errors:

You know actually, I think the problem is evident. Just look in front of you. Understanding that maybe Trump/MAGA might change things, but I wouldn't count on it:

1. All the DEI and other related accusations that appraisers are biased are virtually impossible to get rid of as long as attorneys are willing to take these cases Pro Bono.
2. And they will if they think they have a chance to win big sums in court.
3. Neither corporations nor appraisers can co-exist with such a slew of lawsuits.
4. In the background, the appraisal reports themselves are anything but iron-clad.

As a consequence of the politics of discrimination and bias, we ARE headed toward open-source valuation software with objective, mathematically constrained, and tight logic, with AI inserts for verifying compliance with regulations, analyzing sundry photos and documents, statistical analysis of MLS databases, and other information.

Conclusion:
1. Appraisal reports have to be transparent. The computer code that goes into appraisal software must be open and publicly available for inspection. Nothing hidden. Unfortunately, if companies can't protect their code, and they can't because it's going to have to be open source, then there will be a lot of look-alikes competing with them, or appraisal companies will copy the source code and run their own versions internally. So, then how are their software developers going to get paid? Alamode and Bradford might try to get the government to subsidize them. Still, even if they could arrange some subsidy, it would not be a reliable source of income, as an administration or Congress could cut it off.

2. Well, fortunately, the appraisal software and workflows, which are guaranteed to offer optimal accuracy and results, will be highly complex. In this situation, there is work for training, educational courses, and expert witnesses to describe or attack valuation systems. So, the people who build and maintain such systems will have plenty of work. They will play the roles of researchers, statistical analysts, software developers, legal analysts, and, ultimately, publishers and educators.

3. And no doubt, one way or another, the government will be involved.

And this valuation will not be just for real estate, but for many other things as well. Valuation is needed for decision-making, and we are evolving into a society in which accurate, substantiated, politically acceptable decision-making will become increasingly important over time.