Didn't AI try to do that several years ago? The biggest argument against a national system is mostly all we have to sell is our knowledge. There are too many free riders who will never contribute anything to such a data base. And then there's the quality issue. Although even if someone I know who does a good job gives me a comp, I'm going to go back and reconfirm it. Parties to the transactions often give out different info to different appraisers. Besides who wants to provide "good" data to the commercial skippies. I mean if data was easy to get, Maine would be overrun by Massachusetts appraisers in the summer.
Well, assuming eliminating free riders was possible, I would say that the artificial scarcity of such knowledge is what precludes thorough and quality appraisals from being both desired and appreciated.
If knowledge of the real estate market was as transparent as with other markets, we would see much better analysis overall.
At the moment, it appears this profession continues to sink into irrelevancy in no small part because the majority of appraisers don't actually horde comps. They simply lie. And everyone knows it.
If anything, such artificial scarcity maintains the illusion of authority, and enables liars, as it makes it difficult to verify their data.
Location specific knowledge should not be about comps. It should be about demand, actual property location, future supply, general trends, etc.
All of that said, I have at times considered relocating to someplace rural. Appraisers seem to have a good life in such markets. They often make as much as appraisers in major metro areas, and work half as hard. The lack of competition for the reasons you state is the reason why.
