Appraisal Threshold Debate a Sign of Bigger Problems

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In recent remarks to a community banking conference, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard joined the chorus of voices within the banking sector suggesting one way to ease the regulatory burden of banks would be to raise the threshold for when an appraisal is required.

“Inflation adjustment alone suggests that the threshold in 2015 should be higher,” Bullard explained. “We estimate the number of required appraisals would decline significantly.” The threshold currently stands at $250,000 transaction value for any real estate and $1 million for owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, but some proposals would double the threshold, at least for real estate.

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Appraisal Institute Launches YouTube Channel

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Be sure to check out the Appraisal Institute’s new YouTube channel that launched April 2. YouTube is AI’s latest entry into the social media space, joining the organization’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn sites, along with the “Opinions of Value” blog.

Click here to view the Appraisal Institute’s first YouTube video featuring AI President Sara W. Stephens, MAI, discussing the 2012 Annual Meeting in San Diego.

The creation of the YouTube channel allows AI to continue to interact with its key audiences and to become part of a very active social media platform. Sixty hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and more than 4 billion videos are viewed each day. More than 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month, and 100 million people take a social action on YouTube (such as likes, shares and comments) every week.

Be sure to visit often to view Appraisal Institute videos on topics of interest to members, consumers and anyone connected to the real estate valuation profession.

If you have an “opinion of value,” please share your comments.