The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced March 20 that it has proposed easing some reporting standards in its new assessment plan in order to address inconsistencies noted by banks, American Banker reported.

In 2011, the FDIC changed its pricing formula for large banks to make deposit insurance premiums more sensitive to risk. Among the changes was a new requirement for banks with more than $10 billion in assets to report “leveraged” business and “subprime” consumer loans, both of which are combined with other indicators to determine a bank’s price, American Banker reported.

Banks disputed this new standard and claimed it was inconsistent with normal reporting standards and the data that banks keep. As a result of the banks’ complaints, the FDIC will adjust its definition of what constitutes “higher-risk” assets to better correspond with readily accessible data.

Under the new proposed standards, the category of “leveraged” commercial and industrial loans would become “higher-risk C&I loans and securities” and would include commercial loans of $5 million or more if the debt, incurred within a seven-year period, was critical to financing a leveraged deal or capital distribution. The new classification also would apply in cases where borrowers are considered to be involved in a “highly leveraged” deal.

American Banker reported that under these new proposed standards, banks would report securitizations in which most of the underlying commercial loans met the criteria, as well as corporate securities with similar characteristics. Subprime consumer loans would then be categorized as “higher-risk consumer loans and securities.”

The classification would include consumer loans and refinancing, but would not include nontraditional mortgages (those with a 20 percent risk of default) or securitizations where 50 percent or more of the pool was backed by nontraditional mortgages.

FDIC board member John Walsh called the adjustments an improvement, but said he’s still not sure the FDIC has done enough to reduce the complexities of the new assessment plan. “I look forward to comments on whether it captures the risk in a manner that is consistent with prevailing industry practice,” he told American Banker. Banks have 60 days to comment.

Find more information on the proposal and instructions on submitting comments.

While Republicans deny that the controversial recess appointment of Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has affected their reviews of other regulatory agency nominees, many of those nominations remain in limbo, American Banker reported March 20.

Speaking to the press following a hearing on five pending nominees, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said that the CFPB controversy has no bearing on the reviews and that the committee will be evaluating nominees solely on their merits, American Banker reported.

Several nominees are currently under review by the Senate, including Martin Gruenberg, nominated as Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman; Thomas Hoenig, nominated as FDIC vice chairman; Thomas Curry, nominated as FDIC comptroller of the currency; Jeremiah Norton nominated for an independent director’s seat on the FDIC board; Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell for two open seats on the Federal Reserve Board; Richard Berner nominated for the Office of Financial Research; and Christy Romero nominated for special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Some of these nominees have been in limbo for months — since Cordray’s January recess appointment.

American Banker reported that questioning of nominees during the review hearing on March 20 was not contentious, but their fates are likely in the hands of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has had issues with the Obama administration’s appointment process.

FDIC and Fed nominees answered questions during the hearing about community banks and bank examination standards. American Banker indicated that the nominees provided answers that have strong support from the banking industry.

Norton, for example, who previously served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the administration of President George W. Bush and currently is head of JPMorgan Securities, told the committee that since community banks are large providers of small business loans, the FDIC needs to take their regulation very seriously.

Powell, nominated for a Federal Reserve Board seat, also showed support for smaller institutions, noting, “We need to recognize that community banks are especially important mechanisms for credit to the economy, and the business models of community banks are different than the business models of the large banks, and we can regulate those appropriately and safely.”

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will take a year to finalize its process for monitoring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage underwriting guidelines, HousingWire reported March 21.

Wanda DeLeo, deputy director of examination programs at FHFA, told the agency’s inspector general that written guidance on the review process is anticipated by September, with implementation targeting March 2013, HousingWire reported.

According to a report from the FHFA Office of the Inspector General, the FHFA lacks a formal review process even as the government-sponsored enterprises tighten lending standards, HousingWire reported.

Formal underwriting guidelines have remained unchanged since the housing boom, although the amount the GSEs have been allowed to deviate from the guidelines as determined through negotiations with lenders has significantly been reduced, HousingWire reported.

Those variances frequently had enabled lenders to ease loan-to-value ratios, credit scores and verified income requirements and still have the opportunity to sell the mortgage to Fannie or Freddie.

According to the FHFA OIG report, Fannie issued in excess of 11,000 guideline variances with more than 800 lenders in 2005, but as of September 2011, that number had been reduced to 638 with 188 lenders.

“Obtaining information about the variances would help to educate FHFA about existing increased credit risk and may improve examination guidance,” the inspector general’s report noted.

FHFA conducts tests — called acquisition credit indices — that measure the likelihood a loan will fall 90 days or more delinquent within one year of origination, HousingWire reported. The FHFA has a goal for Fannie and Freddie to achieve a 1 percent ACI score, indicating that a loan has a 1 percent chance of falling 90 days delinquent within one year.

The Office of Housing and Regulatory Policy within the FHFA was formed in 2011 and has been working on a system to track and review changes to the underwriting guidelines and variances ever since. But, as DeLeo noted in her letter to the OIG, the department is still working out the details.

Some of Wall Street’s biggest investors are looking to become landlords in the event they’re given the opportunity to buy pools of foreclosed properties owned by Fannie Mae, The Wall Street Journal reported March 20.

Rather than buying and reselling the properties, investors would rent out the homes with the potential side benefit of easing the clogged housing market.

However, investors are waiting for Fannie to sign onto the process. For the most part, the government-sponsored enterprise has been selling its backlog of foreclosed homes one-by-one, believing the process offers a better return, despite losing about 35 cents on every dollar of debt through foreclosure, the Journal reported. If the GSE was to sell properties in bulk, investors would likely expect to buy up properties at a steep discount — and a potentially significant loss to Fannie.

Should Fannie begin selling properties in bulk to investors, they would be required to keep the houses off the market for several years, the Journal reported.

Investors are hoping the GSE will relent since buying and renting out single-family homes promises substantial returns. According to economists at Goldman Sachs, the nationwide average annual yield on investment rental property is about 6.3 percent and can exceed 8 percent in cities hit hard during the housing crisis, including Las Vegas, Detroit and Tampa, Fla.

Mortgage bonds, on the other hand, offer returns of just over 3 percent, and investment-grade corporate bonds yield about 3.5 percent, according to Barclays Capital U.S. Investment Grade Index, the Journal noted.

Fannie had an inventory of about 120,000 homes at the start of 2012 after having sold 240,000 homes in 2011; the majority were individual and not bulk sales.

According to Barclays Capital, about 800,000 formerly owner-occupied residences are being turned into rentals each year, the Journal reported.

Ivy Zelman, chief executive officer of housing research firm Zelman & Associates, told the Journal that while bulk REO sales for rental purposes seems like a great opportunity for investors, she thinks that investor bids on Fannie properties would be too low for the GSE to bite.

However, Fannie is experimenting with the idea and is requiring investors to submit to an application process where their capital backing and property management experience is reviewed. Any deals would most likely focus on the worst hit markets, such as Arizona, California and Florida.

The Federal Housing Administration has extended its short refinance program for underwater conventional loans until the end of 2014, National Mortgage News reported March 21. Lenders have completed only 840 short refinances since the program began in August 2010.

The main stumbling block to completing short refinances has been the lack of secondary market execution, National Mortgage News reported.

In a short refinance situation, the lender must reduce the principal amount of the mortgage debt by at least 10 percent to get the first lien down to a loan-to-value ratio of 97.75 percent, or 115 percent with a second mortgage, National Mortgage News reported. If the loan is delinquent, a borrower can qualify by completing a three-month payment trial.

Previously, the FHA required the servicer to engage in a permanent loan modification that, in many cases, required a reduction of principal to start the payment trial.

FHA short refinancings can be placed into Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities, but Ginnie issuers and servicers worry about loan performance because there are so few of them.

After having suggested that smaller depositories should be held to different consumer-compliance rules than bigger ones, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray clarified his statement March 22. He explained that regulators should only take into account variations between financial institutions when creating rules for everyone, National Mortgage News reported.

Speaking at the Consumer Bankers Association convention in Austin, Texas, Cordray explained that “What I have said is there are different institutions at different levels of sophistication and that’s something that we should very much take into account as we go about writing regulations for the broader market,” National Mortgage News reported.

Cordray’s comments at the CBA came just one week after he told the Independent Community Bankers of America that subjecting small banks to the exact same regime faced by their larger counterparts was not feasible.

At the CBA, Cordray further stressed that the CFPB regulations apply to all depository institutions regardless of size, but an addendum to a rule could be applied in select situations to provide greater flexibility for smaller banks, National Mortgage News reported.

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB is responsible for supervising banks with greater than $10 billion in assets and enforcing consumer financial laws for those institutions. Smaller banks will remain under the supervision of their prudential regulators.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects a modest gain of 0.5 percent in home prices this year, a good sign for the sector and encouraging enough for the firm to predict that the long-awaited bottom in housing prices will arrive this year, MarketWatch.com reported March 22.

The firm updated its forecast from November 2011, when it expected home prices to fall 3.5 percent in 2012, MarketWatch.com reported.

Housing inventory dropped sharply in the second half of 2011, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch research reported by MarketWatch.com. The winter's unseasonable warmth, recent trends of higher-than-expected job creation and record-low mortgage rates may have already supported home sales.

“Although the housing market is healing, it is still far from a robust recovery,” firm officials said in a news release reported by MarketWatch.com.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects home prices to gain 2.8 percent in 2014, well below the firm’s prior estimate of 8.1 percent. Its prediction for 2020 remains the same, however, when it expects home prices to have recovered by 42 percent, MarketWatch.com reported.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose above 4 percent for the first time since October 2011 following increases in bond yields and improving economic data, Freddie Mac reported March 22 in its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surged 0.16 percentage points to 4.08 percent (down from 4.81 percent a year ago). The 15-year rate climbed 0.14 percentage points to 3.3 percent (down from 4.04 percent a year ago).

Five-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages increased 0.13 percentage points from the previous week to 2.83 percent (down from 3.62 percent a year ago). The one-year rate rose 0.05 percentage points to 2.84 percent (down from 3.21 percent a year ago).

“Mortgage rates are catching up with increases in U.S. Treasury bond yields placing the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate above 4 percent for the first time since the end of October 2011,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said in a news release. “Bond yields rose over the past two weeks in part due to an improving assessment of the state of the economy by the Federal Reserve, better than expected results of commercial bank stress tests and the likelihood of a second bailout for Greece.”

View Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

As Treasury yields continue to rise and point to a strengthening economy, the housing market could soften slightly, The Wall Street Journal reported March 22. A rise of more than 0.3 percentage points in 10-year yields over two weeks already has increased mortgage interest rates.

Mortgage loan application volume dropped 7.4 percent the week ending March 16, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Most of the decrease was attributed to decreased refinancing activity, the Journal reported. If interest rates continue to rise, they could substantially dampen housing market activity and stall a rebound in 2012.

The Journal reported that the National Association of Realtors released existing home sales figures March 21 that showed a 0.9 percent drop in February to an annualized rate of 4.59 million. However, permits to build new homes were at their highest rate in the last three years.

The Journal noted that if interest rates were to climb to 4.5 percent, the housing recovery could stall because the difference between a 4 percent versus a 4.5 percent interest rate amounts to almost $900 a year in mortgage payments.

Since the Fed has indicated that the housing recovery is critical to a solid economic rebound, it’s possible that the Central Bank could try to purchase more mortgage-backed bonds in an effort to reverse yields, the Journal reported. The Fed also could extend its Treasury debt-buying program, known as “Operation Twist,” beyond its scheduled end in June.

Shadow inventory stood at 1.6 million units in January, representing a six-month supply, CoreLogic announced March 21. Total inventory is approximately the same as reported in October 2011 and January 2009, but is well above the 380,000 properties listed at the peak of the housing bubble in mid-2006.

According to the Santa Ana, Calif.-based analytics firm, the flow of homes entering shadow inventory has been offset by the roughly equal flow of distressed sales.

“The shadow inventory remains persistent even though many other metrics of the housing market show signs of improvements,” CoreLogic President and CEO Anand Nallathambi said. “In some hard-hit markets the demand for (real estate-owned) and distressed property is now outstripping supply.”

January’s figure includes 800,000 seriously delinquent loans (90 days or more late), 410,000 mortgages in some stage of foreclosure and 400,000 REO assets.

Despite CoreLogic’s prediction a year ago that shadow inventory would reach 2 million units, inventory was down by 200,000 units year-over-year in January. The report said that the improvement from a year earlier has been concentrated in high-balance loans. However, CoreLogic noted that for every property listed for sale, there is another one lurking in the "shadows."

Loans with balances between $100,000 and $125,000 made up the highest concentration of shadow inventory in January, CoreLogic reported. California, Florida and Illinois accounted for more than one third of the inventory. When combined with New Jersey, New York and Texas, the six states account for half the inventory.

“While the overall supply of homes in the shadow inventory is declining versus a year ago, the declines are being driven by higher balance loans,” the report noted. “For loans with balances of $75,000 or less, however, the shadow is still growing and is up 3 percent from a year ago.”

The default rate for first mortgages decreased 0.06 percentage points in February to 2.02 percent, while the default rate for second mortgages fell 0.1 percentage points to 1.2 percent, Experian reported in a March 20 news release.

Year-over-year, the default rate for first mortgages was down 0.43 percentage points in February and the default rate for second mortgages was down 0.26 percentage points

February’s delinquency rate for first mortgages was down for the second consecutive month, while the delinquency rate for second mortgages fell to its lowest level in at least three years, Experian reported.

The findings were outlined in Standard & Poor’s/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices, which reports on data from 11,500 lenders with around $11 trillion in outstanding loans.

“We appear to be resuming the downward trend in consumer default rates that began in the spring of 2009,” David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee for S&P Indices, said in the news release. “January and February combined reports show broad-based declines in all types of default rates, which is a good way to start the year.”

Of the five metropolitan statistical areas tracked in the report, Los Angeles saw the largest improvement in its overall delinquency rate, falling from 2.54 percent in December to 2.36 percent in January and to 1.87 percent in February.

At 4.54 percent, Miami had the highest overall delinquency rate in February, down from 4.8 percent in January and 6.05 percent a year ago. Despite having the lowest overall delinquency rate among the MSAs tracked, Dallas was the only city to see an increase in February, moving up 0.08 percentage points from January to 1.61 percent (down from 1.78 percent a year ago).

Purchasing a home is cheaper than renting in 98 out of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas — even in New York City, Los Angeles and Boston — according to Trulia’s Winter 2012 Rent vs. Buy Index released March 21.

Falling home values and low mortgage rates have contributed to home ownership’s affordability relative to renting.

The two cities where renting was found to be the better deal: Honolulu and San Francisco, where limited home supply has pushed values higher.

“Buying is cheaper than renting almost everywhere because prices have fallen so much since the housing bubble peaked,” Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko said in the survey.

According to Trulia, purchasing a home was cheapest in economically depressed cities. The most affordable cities to buy a home include Detroit; Oklahoma City; Warren, Mich.; and Dayton and Toledo, Ohio. “Buying is much cheaper than renting in slow-growing places with high vacancy rates and land to spare like Detroit, where prices are unlikely to improve much in the future,” Kolko added.

According to the report, certain cities have submarkets where renting may be the more practical option. For example, renting in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island is more affordable than buying. However, owning a home is still cheaper than renting in Queens, the Bronx and nearby collar counties.

Size also can be a factor in the rent vs. buy debate in some markets. In New York and San Francisco, for example, renting a home with more than two bedrooms can be less expensive than buying; size is less of a factor in Chicago and Miami.

Despite data indicating that buying is a better option in most cities, buyers still face barriers that can prevent them from purchasing a home. Qualifying for a mortgage is difficult and paying rent can push some would-be buyers further away from being able to save for a down payment.

“Rising rents make it harder for people to save for a down payment, which is the biggest barrier to buying a home that aspiring homeowners face,” Kolko said.

Find additional Trulia data on renting vs. buying.

The Appraisal Institute announced March 28 that Dylan Taylor, chief executive officer/USA, Colliers International, will be a general session speaker at its 2012 Annual Meeting. The event will take place Aug. 1-3 at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego.

Serving the world’s third largest commercial real estate firm, Taylor has completed operational accountability for nearly 5,000 professionals in the U.S. In addition to integrating operations across all of Colliers’ services lines and enhancing client engagement strategies, Taylor also is responsible for positioning the firm’s go-to-market strategy. Under Taylor’s leadership, Colliers was ranked the number-one brokerage firm in the U.S. by Commercial Property Executive, an integrated resource for executives and companies that own, invest in, develop, lease and/or manage commercial real estate. Taylor recently was named as one of the top Young Global Leaders by The World Economic Forum in recognition of his professional accomplishments and his commitment to help shape a better global future through personal leadership.

In addition to Taylor’s general session, the AI Annual Meeting will include more than 20 panel discussions and workshops, as well as numerous opportunities for networking and information sharing, continuing education (with the chance to earn up to 18 hours of Appraisal Institute CE credit, and state credit), an awards luncheon, exhibits and abundant recreational activities in sunny San Diego.

Registration is now open. Sign up today and find schedule information, an exhibitor list, hotel packages and discounted airfare.

The Appraisal Institute sent notice to members March 23 regarding proposed changes to the Bylaws that would create a professional appraisal Review Designation program. The AI Board of Directors is expected to address this topic at its May 7-8 meeting.

By sending the proposal to 45-Day Notice, the Board of Directors is seeking to educate Appraisal Institute members on the proposed Review Designations program.

Existing and new AI members who do not hold an AI designation could become candidates for an AI General or Residential review designation. The new courses that would be required of non-designated Members would be written in 2013 and should be available sometime in 2014. Existing Designated Members of the Appraisal Institute would be able to use the “fast track” and earn the Review Designation(s).

AI is considering creating a professional appraisal Review Designation program in response to the growing and critically important role that appraisal review plays in risk management and mitigation for many clients/users of appraisal services. If approved by the AI Board of Directors, the professional appraisal Review Designation program would provide professional reviewers with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the due diligence and risk management needs of their employers and clients.

AI is responding to its members who have said that the organization needs to address the demand side for appraisers; i.e., they want the Appraisal Institute to help its members obtain more and better appraisal assignments. In many cases, a review appraiser bids out appraisal assignments, and it would be a great networking opportunity for fellow Designated Members to be responsible for bidding out work. Designating review appraisers who pass rigorous requirements will enhance the level of reviews of reports that AI members prepare and provide more professionalism for reviewers.

Research shows that individuals who hold professional credentials generally make more money than do non-credentialed individuals. This is especially true for individuals in the real estate valuation profession who hold a designation from a recognized professional association such as the Appraisal Institute.

Additional information about the Review Designations is available here (AI member log-in required). The 45-Day Notice of Proposed Amendments to Appraisal Institute Bylaws and Regulations is available here.

Transmission lines are more likely to have a negative impact on sales when a property has a residential use or small lot size, or when similar properties without transmission lines are available in the market, according to an article published March 20 in The Appraisal Journal.

The Appraisal Journal is the quarterly technical and academic publication of the Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest organization of real estate appraisers. The materials presented in the publication represent the opinions and views of the authors and not necessarily those of AI.

“High-Voltage Transmission Lines and Rural, Western Real Estate Values,” by James A. Chalmers, Ph.D., a certified general real estate appraiser in the states of Arizona and Connecticut, looks at the impact of transmission lines on sale prices and time on the market. It reports the findings of an 11-year study of property sales across 640 miles and 15 counties in Montana. The study includes sales of rural subdivisions and agricultural, recreational and mixed-use properties; prior transmission line studies have focused on densely populated urban areas.

The study offers a new perspective because it examines the impact of transmission lines on individual properties; previous studies only have reported the average effect of transmission lines in a particular area.

Additional stories from The Appraisal Journal’s Winter 2012 issue include:

“Correcting for the Effects of Seasonality on Home Prices,” by Norm Miller, Ph.D.; Vivek Sah, Ph.D.; Michael Sklarz, Ph.D.; and Stefan Pampulov, shows how time of year causes sales price fluctuations of almost 3 percent on the downside and almost 2 percent on the upside.

“Market Conditions Adjustments for Residential Development Land in a Declining Market,” by Robert M. Greene, Ph.D., MAI, SRA, offers insight on measuring price declines in undeveloped subdivision land in markets where there are few or no comparable sales.

“Site Essentials of Convenience Stores and Retail Fuel Properties,” by Robert E. Bainbridge, MAI, SRA, looks at the design features of convenience stores that generate income and influence property value.

The issue also includes a “Residential Appraising” column by Sandra K. Adomatis, SRA, which offers a step-by-step explanation of how appraisers can use the Appraisal Institute’s new Residential Green and Energy-Efficient Addendum to describe the green or energy features of a home. The completed form can then become part of the appraisal report.

AI members can log in and read The Appraisal Journal’s Winter 2012 issue. Non-members may subscribe to read the Journal.

The Appraisal Journal, the quarterly technical and academic publication of the Appraisal Institute, was recognized March 20 for excellence in association and nonprofit communications from The Center for Association Leadership’s 2012 Gold Circle Awards competition.

The Appraisal Journal was awarded honorable mention in the peer-reviewed journal category for associations with budgets greater than $2 million for 2011.

Sponsored by TMG Custom Media and R.R. Donnelley, the competition received more than 150 entries, with honors bestowed in nine categories, including annual reports, feature articles, magazines, newsletters, integrated communications campaigns and innovative communications.

“ASAE’s Gold Circle Award signifies that an association has achieved something exemplary in its communications efforts,” Michael Boa, chair of the ASAE Communication Section Council, said in a news release. “As communications professionals, we strive for excellence in what we say in print, online and over the airwaves. The Gold Circle Award is a measure of how well associations do that.”

The Appraisal Journal will be among the publications honored at the 2012 Gold Circle Award Ceremony during ASAE’s Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference in Washington, D.C., May 23–24.

Find more information about the 2012 Gold Circle Awards competition, including past winners, at The Center for Association Leadership.

Appraisal Institute President Sara W. Stephens, MAI, was featured in several media outlets across the country, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Denver Post and Salem (Mass.) News, in a consumer-focused article concerning how homeowners can boost the appraisal value of their homes.

The story reached an estimated potential audience of nearly 8.2 million subscribers and unique monthly online visitors.

In the story, Stephens advised readers to think about what distinguished their homes from other comparable properties in their area, such as an extra bathroom, a finished basement or other features that are not necessarily detailed in assessor records. “Respectfully tell [the appraiser] what you know, treating the appraiser as a member of your team,” Stephens said. “It will increase the odds of [you] getting a fair and accurate assessment.”

In unrelated coverage, Stephens also was mentioned in Valuation Review concerning her recent testimony in Washington, D.C., where she urged the U.S. Sentencing Commission to require the use of real estate appraisals when calculating loss in mortgage fraud cases.

Also featured in national media coverage this past week was Frank O’Neill, SRA, who appeared in Valuation Review, and Jack Randall Poteet, MAI, who was mentioned on ASA Newsroom online.

These stories are among the recent media coverage included in the “AI in the News” feature on the members-only section of the Appraisal Institute website.

Appraisal Institute members appearing recently in local media coverage include John Hillas, SRA, Modesto (Calif.) Bee; Cindy Carroll, SRA, Naples (Fla.) Daily News and Marco Eagle (Marco Island, Fla.); Ben Thomas, Associate member, KCSG-14 (Me-TV) online (St. George, Utah); Barrie Gaman, MAI, New England Real Estate Journal; Michael Rogers, MAI, SRA, Gulf (Fla.) Breeze News; Bob Allen, Associate member, Durango (Colo.) Herald; Steven Shaykett, MAI, Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus-Leader; Robert Gerhardt, MAI, Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville); Robert McNerney, MAI, SRA, Record & Herald News (Woodland Park, N.J.); and R. Robert Baron, SRA, Douglas Herold, MAI, and Dennis Cestra, SRA, Pittsburgh Business Times.

See the latest media coverage about the real estate valuation profession, the Appraisal Institute and its members. Media coverage at “AI in the News,” found on the member log-in page of the Appraisal Institute’s website, is updated daily and also includes the latest news releases from the Appraisal Institute.