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October 2007 |
A Publication of ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers |
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STUDY NAMES TOP REBOUNDING METROPOLITAN AREAS |
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HOUSE VOTES TO OUTLAW ‘IMPROPERLY INFLUENCED APPRAISALS’ |
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An amendment by Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, outlaws mortgage loan originators from doing anything to "compensate, instruct, induce, coerce, or intimidate [an appraiser] for the purpose of causing the appraised value assigned to the [collateral] property under the appraisal to be based on any other factor other than the independent judgment of [the appraiser] exercised in accordance with applicable professional standards." |
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RISKS MAY BE DECLINING FOR HOME-PRICE DROPS |
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The PMI Mortgage Insurance Company
Fall 2007 Market Risk Index reported that the number of areas at
risk for declines in home prices has fallen. Of the 50
metropolitan areas covered in the study, 11 were determined to
have a greater than 50% chance of having their average home
prices drop. There were 15 such areas in PMI’s summer report.
Home affordability increased in all but two of the top 50 MSAs. "Home-price-appreciation rates have slowed significantly and have gone negative in some areas," said Mark Milner, PMI’s chief risk officer. "In order to restore a healthy market balance, prices need to come back in line with incomes." Risk of home-price decline is highest in California, Florida and the Las Vegas and Phoenix MSAs. "We found that owning a home for 10 years during [the last 25 years] was a good strategy to build wealth and increase net worth over the long term," Milner said. "The market’s changing tide doesn’t necessarily mean it is a bad time to buy or own a house, but it is a reminder that home ownership is a long-term investment." |
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QUOTES OF WIT & WISDOM |
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 "Like
an ability or a muscle, hearing your inner wisdom is
strengthened by doing it." -- Robbie Gass"We have been taught to believe that negative equals realistic and positive equals unrealistic." -- Susan Jeffers "The first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves." -- Walter Anderson "Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need." -- Voltaire "I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy." -- Richard Feynman "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened." -- Winston Churchill "A goal without a plan is just a wish." -- Antoine de Saint Exupery "In case you’re worried about what’s going to become of the younger generation, it’s going to grow up and start worrying about the younger generation." -- Roger Allen "I’m tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That’s deep enough. What do you want, an adorable pancreas?" -- Jean Kerr "Against logic, there is no armor like ignorance." -- Laurence Peter |
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For previous newsletters or columns written by Charlie Elliott, MAI, SRA, president of ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers, for mortgage publications visit our Web site at www.appraisalsanywhere.com. |
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CONTACT US |
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Newsletter Editor: kevin@elliottco.com |
Web Site: www.appraisalsanywhere.com |
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3316-A Battleground Avenue • Greensboro, NC 27410 |
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You are receiving this
newsletter as a subscriber of ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers. |
While home
prices in many areas of the United States are stagnant and even falling,
there are also quite a few areas where housing-value experts feel that a
home purchase is an investment that should quickly pay dividends. A
study by Business 2.0 magazine and Moody’s Economy.com determined the
top 10 metropolitan areas that it concluded were the best places for the
average home to increase in value. 
As part of
FHA reform legislation, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the
Expanding American Homeownership Act (H.R. 1852).
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