Newz: Crazy Appraiser Stories,
How to Do Regression, Resolutions
CHANGE YOUR TEMPLATES!!
January 2, 2026
What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)
- LIA AD: Borrower Wants Answers Appraiser Can’t Give
- Off the Rails: Crazy Appraiser Stories
- Inside Pacific Palisades’ Most Expensive Home—a $39.5 Million Hilltop Marvel
- How to Build a Regression Model in Excel: A Guide for Real Estate Appraisers by Jim Amorin
- Why Resolve anything? By George Dell, MAI
- MBA, Fannie Mae see 2027 (and 2026) housing markets very differently
- MBA STATS – None This Week
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Off the Rails: Crazy Appraiser Stories
You’ve all got stories of crazy inspections: eccentric collections, mysterious apparitions, and unorthodox decor. Here are a few we found to be the most Buzzworthy.
Excerpts: Reflections
My assignment: a log home in the middle of the city. I go into the owner’s suite, and right in the middle of the room is this built-in whirlpool tub up on a pedestal with velvet steps leading up to it. The whole ceiling is just mirrors. I think, How am I going to deal with this? The owner is so proud of this custom owner’s suite they’ve built.
It isn’t something that the normal market would want, so it has a certain…market impact, let’s say. I handled it by cost to cure.
—Jared Preisler
Let That Sink In
When I was an appraiser trainee, I was tagging along with my supervisor on a packed day of about eight appointments. It was mid-January in upstate New York. Trust me when I tell you it was COLD. First appointment, 9am: we finished walking through the inside of the home and headed outside. I began walking around the back yard (tall winter boots on, of course) when I suddenly realized I was about three feet lower than I had been moments ago. I looked down to see brown, icy water pooling around my feet. I struggled to comprehend what was happening as my boots became completely submerged. Seconds later, the homeowner cracked the door open just wide enough to shout, “Watch out for the koi pond! It’s probably covered in snow!”
I spent the rest of the day wearing socks I borrowed from a homeowner and plastic bags stuffed into my boots, while a swampy smell permeated my boss’s car. Lesson learned.
—KWAppraisalGroup
To read more, Click Here
Inside Pacific Palisades’ Most Expensive Home — a $39.5 Million Hilltop Marvel
Excerpts: 9 bedrooms, 11 baths, 12,000 sq.ft., 1.4 acre lot
Traditional compound situated on a triple lot (521, 525 & 527 Spoleto) overlooking stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.
Totaling approx. 1.4 acres with huge rolling lawns, pool, outdoor loggias and tennis/pickleball overlooking stunning head-on ocean views. 5 bedroom (approx. 7, 000 sf) Main House, plus a 4 bedroom (approx. 5, 000 sf) beautiful Separate House with its own gated entrance.
Completely private on an ultra prime quiet street, a full remodel was completed in 2025 with every conceivable amenity.
Main House features a 2-story entry, large, paneled living room, formal dining room, a true gourmet kitchen w/ open breakfast room and fireplace that leads to a beautiful family room and covered loggia. Incredible primary suite with beautifully appointed luxurious bath and closets.
Theatre, media room, wine cellar, and staff/guest room, etc. Amazing Separate House with 4 baths, great structure for guests, offices, and much more!!! Nothing like this on the market, an incredible and irreplaceable value!
To see the listing with 35 photos and an aerial view Click Here
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How to Build a Regression Model in Excel: A Guide for Real Estate Appraisers
By Jim Amorin
Excerpts: If you’re ready to take your Excel skills up to the next level, we’re diving into a powerful tool that can significantly boost your appraisal skills: building a regression model in Excel. This guide will break down what regression is, how it helps in real estate, and how you can create a regression model in Excel.
What is a Regression Model?
A regression model is a mathematical formula that describes the relationship between different variables. In the context of real estate appraisal, these variables can include the square footage of a property, the number of bedrooms, the age of the property, and many other factors. The model helps appraisers understand how these variables influence the property’s sale price. By inputting data into the model, you can predict the value of a property based on its specific characteristics.
Topics with list of details
- How Do Regression Models Help Appraisers?
- How to Build a Regression Model in Excel – 6 steps
- An Example of a Regression Model in Real Estate: House Appraisal
To read more, Click Here
My comments: Understandable. Detailed instructions on doing regression with excel plus a case study.
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Communicating with non-lender clients: very very different from Lenders!
In the January 2-26 issue of Appraisal Today
Many appraisers are leaving appraising now or say they will quit soon because of UAD 3.6.
Excerpts: There is another option: non-lender appraisals. I have been doing them since I started my appraisal business in 1986. I wrote this article to help you decide about non-lender appraisals. Or, increase the number of non-lender appraisals you do.
I have been writing about non-lender appraisals since I started this
newsletter in 1992. I have many articles available, including about
marketing.
Marketing: Lenders – get on list. Offer a low fee? For Non-lenders many
types of marketing can be used. Real estate agents are the best source of
clients
Probably the most significant difference between AMC and non-lender
appraisals are the fees. AMC- competitive bidding. Non-lender – few if any fee
competitors. Also, no AMCs with their pages of requirements, “reviews”, etc.
The basic differences: Lender tells you what to do. Non-lender you ask the
client why they need an appraiser. And more questions…
Turn time – You decide
Type of value – You decide
Type of report – You decide
Cert. and lim. Conditions – You decide
Engagement letter – You decide
To read the full article, plus 2+ years of previous issues, subscribe to the paid Appraisal Today at www.appraisaltoday.com/order .
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If you are a paid subscriber and did not receive the January , 2026 issue emailed on Friday January 2 2026 please email info@appraisaltoday.com, and we will send it to you. You can also hit the reply button. Be sure to include a comment requesting it. Or, call 510-865-8041
Why Resolve anything?
I resolve because I want to get something, to change something. Even myself self. Darn.
But still – I do want something to be different. So what is my scope of work? That helps!
- Identify the doable goal, and an approach.
- Select a path that works, and can succeed.
- Identify the proven, practical action steps.
- Begin the beginning not the dream ending.
- Resolutions fail to work because they are resolutions.
They fail because they are the end, not the path.
Success is not difficult. It’s just new. Success is not the goal, it is the path to get there. We humans can sabotage our goal in many creative ways. Mostly by a fear of failure, or a fear of success! Darn again.
To read more, Click Here
My comments: Excellent tips from George Dell for New Year’s Resolutions. Can be done at any time.
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MBA, Fannie Mae see 2027 housing market very differently
Mortgage giants see eye to eye for 2026 — but have markedly different outlooks for the following year
Excerpts: For mortgage professionals already putting 2026 strategies in motion, 2027 is, in some regards, already here.
Though both the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae project that 2026 will be a year of stabilization for the U.S. housing market, the influential mortgage groups offer differing takes on the extent to which favorable conditions will persist for lenders and borrowers in 2027.
The MBA and Fannie Mae both forecast purchase volumes will total a little under $1.4 trillion in 2025 as the housing finance industry limps to the finish line of another year defined by low production. Each organization expects average 30-year fixed-mortgage rates will spend next year around 6% or higher.
Though they both expect total home sales will grow by 6.5% to 7% and purchase originations will land a little under $1.5 trillion in 2026, their 2027 outlooks diverge notably.
Economists for the MBA, for example, forecast $1.46 trillion in purchase originations next year growing about 3% to just $1.5 trillion in 2027. Fannie Mae’s forecast of $1.49 trillion in purchase volume in 2026 grows by 9.6% to $1.63 trillion the following year.
The difference in MBA and Fannie Mae projections for refinance activity in 2026 and 2027 is even more stark.
Fannie Mae forecasts $882 billion and $875 billion in refinance volumes for 2026 and 2027, respectively, despite projecting that 30-year mortgage rates will average 6% in 2026 and 5.9% in 2027.
MBA expects that the $737 billion of refinance originations it predicts for 2026 — 16% less than Fannie Mae’s forecast — will decline by 6% to $693 billion the following year, nearly 21% lower than Fannie’s forecast totals for 2027. The MBA expects 30-year mortgage rates will average 6.4% in each of those years before rising to 6.5% in 2028.
To read more, Click Here
My comments: interesting differences between MBA and Fannie forecasts. Which one will be correct? Who knows!!
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HOW TO USE THE NUMBERS BELOW. Appraisals are ordered after the loan application. These numbers tell you the future for the next few weeks. For more information on how they are compiled, Click Here.
Note: I publish a graph of this data every month in my paid monthly newsletter, Appraisal Today. For more information or get a FREE sample go to www.appraisaltoday.com/order Or call 510-865-8041, MTW, 7 AM to noon, Pacific time.
My comments: Rates are going up and down. We are all waiting for rates to drop lower in 2026.
MBA Offices will be closed beginning on Thursday, December 25, 2025 and will reopen on Friday, January 2, 2026. Due to the office closing and holidays, the results for weeks ending December 26, 2025 and January 2, 2026 will both be released on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.
Ann O’Rourke, MAI, SRA, MBA
Appraiser and Publisher Appraisal Today
1826 Clement Ave. Suite 203 Alameda, CA 94501
Phone: 510-865-8041
Email: ann@appraisaltoday.com
Online: www.appraisaltoday.com
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