Thursday, January 24, 2008

The appraisal industry has changed…..forever!

AVM’s have forever changed the way Wall Street, Lenders and Banking industry use appraisal. You may be asking yourself, what is an AVM and how does it affect the appraisal industry?

AVM is short for "Automated Valuation Model". Appraisers, Wall Street and Lending Institutions all use AVM technology in their analysis of residential property. An AVM is a residential Valuation Report that can be obtained in a matter of seconds. It is a technology driven report. The product of an automated valuation technology analysis, public record data, and computer decision logic combined to provide a logical calculated estimate of a probable selling price of a residential property. An AVM generally uses a combination of two types of evaluation, the running of a hedonic model and a repeat sales index. The results of each are weighed, analyzed and then reported as a final estimate of value based on a requested reasoning date. http://www.electronicappraiser.com/why.cfm

AVM’s have been around since the late 1990’s. For decades, mortgages have been constantly bought and sold in large groups of loans, (pools) by banks, institutional investors and Wall Street. As technology caught up with the demand, there arose a need to rapidly evaluate large groups of residential loans without appraising each property associated with the corresponding loan. This has always been an expensive process that could take several weeks to complete. AVM technology allowed the addresses associated with each loan to be fed into a computer, AVM reasoning would be applied to each property and result in a report of the then current “market” value for each property in a loan pool. The AVM would assist the institutional investor in determining their risk for that pool.

As AVM technology improved, many uses for them evolved. Not only were they being used for large pools, but also for individual loans. Fifteen years ago, a no closing-cost loan was virtually unheard of, with AVM’s they became commonplace. Loans were just too expensive to process, one of the largest costs being that of a traditional appraisal. AVMs allowed lenders to quickly evaluate a property and in many cases determine if a full appraisal were necessary to fund a loan, and could be done inexpensively. This was especially true in “portfolio” loans, loans in which a lender did not intend to sell.

AVM’s give a non-partial analysis, appraisers are constantly being persuaded by real estate brokers and loan agents to hit a certain value. There is no bargaining with an AVM, the computer determines a non-biased value, thus greatly reducing the risk of fraud.

AVM’s are attractive in price, significantly lower than a traditional appraisal. From $25-$50 for individual reports, to a few dollars each if bought in bulk.

AVM’s have not evolved to the point where they are able to replace the appraiser, nor are they suited for every use. For example, they are relatively new to the market in originating first mortgage loans and in a rapidly changing real estate market (up or down), local knowledge is a must. The acceptance and uses of AVMs is constantly expanding, and as it expands the need for a traditional appraisals will continue to diminish.

About the Author: Greg Sullivan is the President of www.electronicappraiser.com, a leading provider of home appraisals offering a nationwide personalized instant home appraisal service. For more information, please visit www.electronicappraiser.com.

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