Notorious POD, Ep 32: Musings on AVMs and Appraisers

Musings is a solo version of the Notorious POD in which I think out loud about issues in the economy, technology, and real estate industry. In this episode, I think out loud about AVMs, appraisers and the future of valuation at least for purposes of lenders. I’ve been researching and investigating valuations and appraisals in … Read more

How the Agent-Free Future of Real Estate Could Come About

There’s not much that excites the hoi polloi of the real estate industry more than the suggestion of disintermediation: that one day, buyers and sellers would transact business without having to call their local REALTOR and pay the commission. If it’s not one lion over the hill, then it’s another. If it’s not a lion, … Read more

Does an Agent’s Pricing Still Matter?

A while back, I wrote a post about some possible problems and concerns with a new Fannie Mae program, called Collateral Underwriter, which is aimed at helping lenders evaluate appraisals and appraisers. As is often the case, that issue went completely under the radar while everyone was too busy arguing about HomesForSale.com or some new Zillow … Read more

Does an Agent's Pricing Still Matter?

A while back, I wrote a post about some possible problems and concerns with a new Fannie Mae program, called Collateral Underwriter, which is aimed at helping lenders evaluate appraisals and appraisers. As is often the case, that issue went completely under the radar while everyone was too busy arguing about HomesForSale.com or some new Zillow … Read more

We Need To Talk About Fannie Mae A Bit

A couple of weeks ago, I learned about a new Fannie Mae program that was rolled out to lenders called Collateral Underwriter, or CU. From the press release: Fannie Mae created the online tool in 2013 to analyze appraisal data it had been receiving from lenders electronically since 2012. With the rollout in early 2015, … Read more

Deconstructing Obama on Housing

As I’m sure my industry-savvy readers — that would be you — know by now, President Obama sat down with Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow, for a half hour interview in which the President answered questions that Zillow gathered from social media. The video is embedded above. Thing is, if we’re going to understand where … Read more