Before the ""2012 Five Star Conference"":http://www.thefivestar.com/fsc-2012/ went into full swing last week, one firm, ""Valuation Vision"":https://www.valuationvision.com/, announced the participation of one of its members at one of the industry event's noteworthy academic courses.
[IMAGE]The Oceanside, California-based valuation products company, a subsidiary of ""The Kirchmeyer Group"":http://www.kirchmeyergroup.com/, revealed that Bill Mohler, director of product development, would join other distinguished panelists in the class titled ""Opposing Values: BPO vs. Appraisals vs. Desktops vs. AVMs.""
Industry cohort Jacqueline Doty, VP of collateral strategy for ""CoreLogic"":http://www.corelogic.com/, helmed the panel with Mohler, along with Brad Froelich, chief appraiser for ""US Real Estate Services"":http://www.usres.com/, and Ken Wilson, president of the ""Appraisal Institute"":http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/.
Geoff DeCenzo, VP of president alternative valuations for JVI Solutions, moderated the panel, which took on the theme of ""The Great Debate"" from Five Star's conference.
[COLUMN_BREAK]Speaking before a packed audience at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, the panelists took turns debating estimates for annual appraisal volume, where so-called active appraisers will go in an age of evolving technology, and whether professionals are keeping up with market demand.
Addressing a shortage of well-paid jobs for appraisers, Mohler told the audience that ""opportunities [are] out there. Appraisers need to think outside of the box.
""Most people recognize that value is not a spot price,"" he said. ""If you were to send 10 ethical very honest appraisers to the same home or the same day, you'll still get the same range of values.""
The appraisal industry remains a hot-button one for mortgage industry professionals. Recent changes underway with new legislation on Capitol Hill and rulemaking proposals from regulatory agencies could spell an end to appraisal fees for homeowners.
With ""Fannie Mae"":http://www.fanniemae.com/portal/index.html and ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com/ recently adopting a universal dataset, appraisers accustomed to traditional reports continue to find themselves up against a wealth of changes on their way down the pipeline.
Wilson touched on the issue of new technologies, including automated valuation models. ""The appraisal profession is an aging one,"" he said, adding that Appraisal Institute members average 50 years of age.
These appraisers ""may not be likely to embrace the new technology,"" he said. ""It's incumbent to get younger people into the business.""
[Editor's note: ""The Five Star Institute"":http://www.thefivestar.com/#/home is the parent company of _MReport._]