AI and Appraisals – the Future

Newz: Future of AI in Appraisals,
Comps in Today’s Market

August 1, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA ad: Code violations and expertise
  • The Future of AI in Real Estate Valuations: Understanding Tomorrow’s Appraisal Standards By Leland Trice
  • New York City’s Famous ‘Bubble House’ Hits the Market for the First Time in 50 Years With an Asking Price of $5.8 Million
  • The problem with comps in today’s housing market By Ryan Lundquist
  • Divorce Appraisal: A Guide for Real Estate Appraisers By Kevin Hecht
  • For sale signs multiply: Inventory hits 5-year high, price cuts surge What’s happening with markets all over the country?
  • Mortgage applications increased 0.8 percent from one week earlier

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The Future of AI in Real Estate Valuations: Understanding Tomorrow’s Appraisal Standards

By Leland Trice

Excerpts: The real estate valuation industry stands at a pivotal moment. After decades of relying on manual processes that are inefficient, error-prone, and costly, we’re witnessing a fundamental shift toward AI and technology enabled solutions that don’t replace human expertise but amplify them.

The future of real estate valuations will likely involve increasing integration of human expertise with artificial intelligence capabilities. This evolution isn’t about replacing professional judgment with automated systems it’s about creating hybrid approaches that leverage the strengths of both human analysis and machine processing.

Opteon’s new AI-powered quality control tool, built in collaboration with technology partner Jaro, illustrates this broader evolution across our industry.

It’s important to clarify a common misconception: AI-powered tools like Intara, don’t replace appraisers or QC functions. Instead, they enable Appraisers to focus on what they do best, expert analysis and decision-making, while automating repetitive, administrative and time-consuming tasks that add little analytical value.

The “magic” of AI is its ability to look holistically at a file. We have moved past the days of checklist data review and can now examine unstructured data and images simultaneously and in conjunction with discrete data points.

A critical factor in successful AI implementation is the flexibility to meet varying requirements. Intara demonstrates this principle by embedding lender-specific criteria into quality control processes, automatically identifying discrepancies, and ensuring consistency before reports reach final review.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: This article sometimes reads as a “marketing promotion”. But, worth reading to see how one company uses AI for appraisals and how it is used.

This article goes way beyond Chat GPT. It shows how custom AI applications can work for appraisals. The author, Leland Trice, is Managing Director at Opteon USA.


New York City’s Famous ‘Bubble House’ Hits the Market for the First Time in 50 Years With an Asking Price of $5.8 Million

Excerpts: 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, 4,763 sq.t. Townhouse

The distinctive bubbly residence has become a somewhat divisive hot spot in its Lenox Hill neighborhood, where it was built in 1969, with architect Maurice Medcalfe transforming a traditional brownstone into the eye-popping modernist masterpiece.

Medcalfe’s unique window design was intended to be “a sculptural interpretation of the classic bay window,” according to reports.

There is plenty to play with in the four-story interior, which boasts 4,736 square feet of space and includes four bedrooms, an office, and five bathrooms that are “all in need of renovation,” according to the listing.

To read the listing with 13 photos Click Here

Read more!!

Parcel, Deed and Tax Data Differences for Appraisals

Newz: Parcel, Deed and Tax Data Differences, New URAR, Probate/Estate Appraisals

June 6, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD Problem with An Affidavit
  • The Difference Between Parcel Data, Deed Data, and Tax Data
  • Nautilus House in Naucalpan, Mexico
  • Brains, Bytes, and Bracketing: Why Appraisers Need Both Carbon and Silicon in Their Toolkit By Ernie Durbin
  • What’s new in the New URAR?
  • How Probate Appraisals Really Work By Tom Horn
  • An Appraiser’s Musings on Adaptive Reuse By Hal Humphreys
  • Mortgage applications decreased 3.9 percent from one week earlier

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The Difference Between Parcel Data, Deed Data, and Tax Data

Excerpts: Parcel, deed, and tax assessor data — what’s the difference between them, and which type of data do you need?

What Is Parcel Data?

Parcels, or property boundaries, can be defined as a shape or polygon and displayed on a map. These mapped areas comprise parcel data, and they might also show points of latitude and longitude, streets, or zip codes. Parcel data also includes ownership details, acreage, and the boundaries for the parcels.

What Is Deed Data?

Deed data include the information contained within a property deed. Unlike parcel data, deed data is not map-based although the data points can be overlaid on a map. A property deed is a legal document that transfers ownership of real estate and is required for real estate transactions, legal proceedings, and tracking property ownership history.

What Is Tax Data?

Tax data are collected by the county tax assessor. Tax data include property identification, addresses, current and past property ownership, legal descriptions, property features, property values, and taxes.

As you can see, these three real estate data types have some level of overlap. However, boundary data are required for mapping purposes and deed and tax data are critical for businesses providing legal, mortgage, and titling services.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Read more details. Very good information. This article was written by ATTOM data, who provides all the types of data above. You can read the Mortgage sections of the article to see how it affects mortgages and appraisers.

When I started my first appraisal job at an assessor’s office in 1975, I was very lucky. I appraised the land for every parcel, improved or not. I had great training on the topics above.

I went to the county records to find, read and understand deeds.

I learned how to read assessor’s parcel maps, as that is how I found the properties I appraised. I attended a 3 day class by a property surveyor to understand how they determined property maps.

When I started my appraisal business in 1975 the chief appraiser one of the local lenders I worked for required that the appraisers read title report including the deeds for every property. You initialed the report.

I doubt if many appraisers got the training that I received. I was very, very lucky.

The deeds also include easements and other restrictions. When I am not sure the parcel map has correct dimensions or there may be easements, I obtain a copy of the deed’s legal description and run down the property lines (length, angle, etc.

In my city, there are many Victorians side by side on narrow lots with garages in the rear that use the driveway between the homes for access. A client wanted to get her parking rights between her house and the neighbor. Her neighbor did not have a car now so she could use the full driveway. I told her the neighbor could sell or rent her home and her driveway parking might be gone. There was a recorded driveway easement. I told her to get a survey. She purchased a car that fit into her half of the driveway.

Another time my client and a neighbor were not in agreement on the location of a fence. I told them I assume fences are not on the property boundary, unless I have a survey. They got one and resolved their dispute.

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Nautilus House in Naucalpan, Mexico

Excerpts: Architect’s statement: At the end of the turn-around is the piece of land, with upward topography, where the Nautilus was built. It is limited by three of its adjoining properties because each of them has high buildings. The fourth adjoining property if to the west and has wide views of a green area with mountains in the horizon.

The construction area was defined since the first studies at the back of the piece of land, leaving the pedestrian and car access at the front as well as only one façade, the so called fifth façade in architectonic language.

The social life of this dwelling place flows inside the Nautilus without any divisions. Going up the spiral stairs, continuing through the hall, going through the television room sheltered in the Nautilus belly flows the space up the spiral stairs to the study room, where you can view the mountain’s landscape.

Behind the Nautilus is wrapped the intimate and service area: bedrooms, walking closets, bathrooms and the kitchen.

To read more plus see fascinating phots, Click Here

My comment: This is one of my favorite “unique” homes.

Read more!!