6 Organizations Send Letter Opposing Increase in Residential Appraisal Threshold

RESTON, Va., Feb. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Society of Appraisers (ASA), along with five additional organizations, filed comments with the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency urging the Agencies to abandon a proposed increase in the residential appraisal threshold from $250,000 to $400,000.

In their comments, the organizations point to several factors that all argue against the increase:

• The Agencies had recently considered the same increase in the residential threshold, and had decided against an increase "based on considerations of safety and soundness and consumer protection";
• In passing the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, Congress declined to increase the threshold and instead provided discrete regulatory relief in rural areas;
• That many of the market conditions that existed during previous consideration of a threshold increase had changed in a way that does not support an increase today; and,
• Increasing the threshold such that over 7 in 10 Americans is denied the benefits of a Title XI appraisal harms consumer protection and safety and soundness.

Robert Morrison, International President for ASA, added: "There is no question that homebuyers and lenders are best protected when they engage the services of a professional appraiser in connection with the single largest purchase most Americans will ever make. This proposal ignores that fact, and the agencies' own prior conclusions, just to give relief to a handful of lenders who do not value homebuyer or taxpayer protection."

ASA was joined in the comment letter by the Appraisal Institute, the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, MBREA | The Association for Valuation Professionals, the American Guild of Appraisers, OPEIU, AFL-CIO, and RICS. To read more, including to access the full text of the comment letter, go to: http://www.appraisers.org/asa-newsroom/article/2019/02/05/asa-5-other-organizations-file-comments-on-proposed-residential-appraisal-threshold-increase 

American Society of Appraisers
The American Society of Appraisers is a world renowned and respected international organization devoted to the appraisal profession. As the oldest and only major appraisal organization representing all appraisal specialists, ASA is devoted to providing the highest possible standards in all areas of ethics, professionalism, education and designation criteria. For more information about the American Society of Appraisers, the ASA designation program for appraisers or the Society's free "Find an Appraiser" Referral System, visit www.appraisers.org or call (800) 272-8258.

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SOURCE American Society of Appraisers