Newz: Creative Appraisal Definitions – Humor, FHA Modernization Minimum Property Requirements
June 5, 2026
What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)
- LIA AD: Subpoena Threat Over a 10-Year-Old Appraisal
- Creative Appraisal Definitions Humor
- Foam Dome Home With ‘Not a Single Straight Line’ Hits the Market in Florida for $249K: ‘A Genuine Original’
- My ad: How to decide which UAD 3.6 software to use
- USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era, By Edwin Farr, MAI
- FHA Seeks Public Comment Regarding Modernizing Its Single Family Housing Minimum Property Requirements
- Upcoming UAD 3.6 Bootcamp in Irving, Texas
- MBA: Mortgage applications decreased 2.5 percent from one week earlier
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Creative Appraisal Definitions – Humor
Excerpts:
- Purpose of the Appraisal – To make a living in the appraisal business.
- Functional Obsolescence – That state of many older appraisers.
- The Subject – A term police use to identify the victim of a crime.
To read more, Click Here
My comments: We can all use some appraiser humor !!
For commercial and residential appraisers.
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Foam Dome Home With ‘Not a Single Straight Line’ Hits the Market in Florida for $249K: ‘A Genuine Original’
Excerpts: 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,227 sq.ft., .98 acre lot, built in 1972
An intriguing dome home in Florida that was constructed using sprayed polyurethane foam and has not a “single straight line” within its structure has hit the market for less than $250,000—more than five decades after it was hand-built to serve as an example of what sustainable, eco-friendly living might one day look like.
Located in Gainesville, the four-bedroom, two-bathroom dwelling features a fascinating organic shape that seems to mirror the changing landscape around. There is no other home like this in Gainesville – and quite possibly anywhere.
The Foam Dome is a genuine original. Designed and hand-built in 1972 by a University of Florida landscape architecture student, this extraordinary structure was a vision of organic, energy-efficient living decades ahead of its time. Every curve, arch, and passageway was shaped by hand using a sprayed polyurethane foam and rebar frame – no two angles are the same, and not a single straight line exists anywhere in the building.
Using a rebar frame and sprayed foam, he managed to create a sizable 1,700-square-foot structure for much less money than the average home build.
To read the listing, Click Here
My comments: I had never heard of a “Foam Dome”.
That’s one of the reasons I love appraising: Always Something New!!
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USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard in the Fair Housing Era
By Edwin Farr, MAI
Excerpts: The Irreconcilable Conflict Between USPAP’s Typical Buyer Standard and the Current Fair Housing Compliance Regime. Retain this document as a reference should you face a complaint grounded in disparate impact theory alone. The three-safeguard framework from Inclusive Communities provides a robust defense for any appraiser whose methodology is USPAP-compliant, well-documented, and market-supported.
Introduction
I want to state plainly what the appraisal profession has been tiptoeing around since roughly 2019: an appraiser cannot simultaneously comply with:
1- USPAP’s requirement to identify and analyze the most probable (typical) buyer of a property via market data AND…
2- comply with the current iteration of fair housing training that demands the appraiser blind themselves to the characteristics, preferences, and decision-making patterns of that same buyer.
These two mandates point in opposite directions. One requires the observation and prediction of actual market behavior. The other requires the appraiser to disregard that behavior. You cannot do both. This is not a political statement. It is a professional and legal one, and I intend to demonstrate it.
To read more, Click Here
My comments: Long and detailed blog post but worth reading. Comments are worthwhile reading also. Good graph also.
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How to decide which UAD 3.6 software to use
In the January, 2026 issue of Appraisal Today
Also included: UAD 3.6 Software Evaluation Check List
(3 pages)
START NOW! DON’T WAIT to select your vendor and learn how to
use their software or the UAD 3.6 software from your current vendor
AMCs ARE DESPERATE FOR APPRAISERS WHO CAN DO UAD 3.6 REPORTS.
SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN REVISIONS – NEW GSE CHECKING REQUIRED.
Sample Topics:
- GSEs have their own validation software. Send your file to them, they check it, and tell you what to correct.
- What if you don’t want to do UAD 3.6 appraisals?
- GSEs do about 50% of mortgage loans. Lenders who don’t sell their loans to GSEs will be using the legacy forms.
- What about long addendums?
- Link to get broadband information by address
- Easily calculate the distance from the ground to the first floor home level and why the GSEs want it.
- Where to find the list of GSE validated lenders
- Where to get more information and see demos.
- What is the probability of very many lenders being ready on November 2
- What about workfiles
To read the full article, plus 3+ years of previous issues, subscribe to the paid Appraisal Today at www.appraisaltoday.com/order
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June, 2026 issue emailed on
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FHA Seeks Public Comment Regarding Modernizing Its Single Family Housing Minimum Property Requirements
Last week, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), published a Request for Information (RFI) Regarding Single Family Minimum Property Requirements (MPR) (Docket No. FR-6609-N-01) in the Federal Register for public comment.
FHA’s Minimum Property Requirements (MPR) have long supported the safety and soundness of the single family homes the agency insures. However, these standards have not undergone a comprehensive update in over two decades and no longer reflect current industry practices. FHA MPRs are dated, creating unnecessary burdens that increase housing costs, discourage industry participation, limit access to FHA financing — particularly for first time and low- to moderate-income American homebuyers — and outweigh the benefits they provide.
Interested stakeholders are encouraged to review and provide comments following the methods outlined in the RFI (Docket No. FR-6609-N-01) through the June 29, 2026 deadline
Click here for more information.
My comments: When I started my business in 1986 I had never done a residential lender appraisal. I joined the FHA Panel and was very surprised at
the property information required as compared with non-FHA loans. Too much hassle for me. I quit doing FHA appraisals after 6 months.
Finally, after 40 years, maybe there will be some modernization.
Submit your comments by June 29, 2026.
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Upcoming UAD 3.6 Bootcamp – Zoom and in person in Irving Texas June 24-26
14 hours CE (first two days)
AVS is pleased to sponsor the Appraiser eLearning UAD 3.6 Bootcamp, hosted June 24–26, 2026, at the Cotality Building in Irving, Texas.
This three-day hybrid program gives appraisers an immersive look at UAD 3.6, including mobile appraising, the new URAR, software demonstrations, data clusters, inspection practices, and a live Q&A with representatives from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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I attended the recent previous event in Chicago and it was definitely worthwhile. I wrote about it in the January 2026 issue of Appraisal Today. Fannie and Freddie representatives spoke plus software demos (30 minutes each) and more.
Single day passes are available. I strongly recommend day 3. No CE but has software demos and Fannie/Freddie speakers.
For more info Click Here
My comments: I used zoom which was okay. You can get a recording of he first two days. Attending live is best so you can see more software demos and chat with their employees, I will be including these types of events in these newsletters. All the software vendors plan to go to the large conferences to show their latest versions of their software.
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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 2027.
Mortgage applications decreased 2.5 percent from one week earlier
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 3, 2026) — Mortgage applications decreased 2.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 29, 2026. This week’s results include an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 13 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 2 percent from the previous week and was 20 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 14 percent compared with the previous week and was 7 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
“The prospect of easing energy prices given the evolving situation in the Middle East brought mortgage rates slightly lower last week. The retreat in rates, however, did not lead to an increase in mortgage applications,” said Joel Kan, CMB, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Purchase applications remained ahead of 2025’s pace but were at its slowest weekly pace since April, and refinance activity was at its weakest since last June.”
Added Kan, “The 30-year fixed rate decreased to 6.57 percent while the 5-year ARM rate inched up slightly, reflecting a flattening yield curve, as short-term rates are at risk of increasing while longer-term rates have dropped. Additionally, the ARM index decreased 12 percent over the week, and the ARM share dropped to 8.5 percent.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 38.0 percent of total applications from 37.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 8.5 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 17.0 percent from 17.2 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 14.4 percent from 13.2 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5 percent from the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($832,750 or less) decreased to 6.57 percent from 6.65 percent, with points increasing to 0.67 from 0.65 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $832,750) decreased to 6.66 percent from 6.68 percent, with points decreasing to 0.35 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 6.26 percent from 6.31 percent, with points decreasing to 0.75 from 0.79 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.93 percent from 5.97 percent, with points decreasing to 0.76 from 0.84 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 5.82 percent from 5.81 percent, with points increasing to 0.88 from 0.82 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The survey covers U.S. closed-end residential mortgage applications originated through retail and consumer direct channels. The survey has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, thrifts, and credit unions. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.
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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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