Article Surfing Archive

A huge majority of Americans believe home appraisers do not provide an unbiased opinion of value making appraisals, skewing appraisals in favor of mortgage companies and banks, according to a new opinion poll conducted by Housing Predictor.

Some 75% of those surveyed said appraisers do not provide an unbiased opinion, and only 25% said they provide an unbiased opinion of value. The online survey was conducted over the last month on Housing Predictor, which regularly surveys visitors on a variety of real estate related subjects.

The huge majority shows an increasing trend that appraisers are biased in favor of mortgage companies and banks, where they get the majority of their business. Three out of four surveyed believe appraisers are biased in the work they conduct.

There have been Congressional movements towards regulating appraisers, but no bills have made it through Congress amid widespread speculation that many states would pass their own laws to further control and regulate appraisers. Appraisers are licensed in the majority of states.

An automated system for determining the value of properties has also been considered by some mortgage companies, but federal guidelines require a full appraisal to resell mortgages on the secondary market, forcing lenders to provide the appraisals as part of the package to obtain approvals on their loans.

Appraisers are under increasing scrutiny amid fall out from the subprime loan crisis and are increasingly being called on to testify in upcoming trials against mortgage brokers and lenders in relationship to mortgages that borrowers are suing over. The subprime loan crisis is expected to top $100 billion in losses to home owners and Wall Street investors.

Housing Predictor provides more than 250 local housing market forecasts in all 50 U.S. states and surveys visitors to its web site on real estate related issues. Check market forecasts and search real estate listings, including foreclosures at Housing Predictor.