CSBS Releases Report on Shortage of Appraisers in Rural Communities

On September 6, 2018, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) released a report on the shortage of appraisers in rural communities that has resulted in significant delays in home purchase processes.  The report discusses the scope of the shortage across the nation and available temporary solutions.

Shortages of appraisers have been reported by Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah, while regulators from Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin have continuously noted that federal appraisal rules have been particularly burdensome to the number of appraisers in rural areas.  According to the report, there has been a continuous annual decline of nearly three percent in the number of licensed and certified real estate appraisers in the nation since 2006.

In response to the growing concern of the shortage of appraisers, a joint Interagency Advisory Notice on the Availability of Appraisers was issued on May 31, 2017, by federal regulatory bank agencies.  This notice discussed two existing options to address the shortage: a temporary practice permit or a temporary waiver.  Nonetheless, the report concludes that neither the temporary practice permit nor the temporary waiver option will likely have a material improvement on appraiser availability in markets with shortages as both options are temporary, uncertain, and rarely utilized.

The full report may be found here.