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Maryland House Bill (HB) 42 Withdrawn
I just wanted to give all AI members in Maryland a quick update as to what occurred yesterday in Annapolis yesterday regarding HB 42 – the legislation that would have prohibited appraisers from appraising commercial and residential property if they had knowledge of the contracted selling price.
Prior to the hearing, myself and Hal Powell, MAI and Beth Reidel met privately with Delegate Conaway. As we had suspected, although well intentioned, he had been unaware that the bill's restrictions inadvertently did more harm than good, in addition to being both counterproductive and unrealistic. He was extremely receptive to learning the facts and as a result of our discussion, the Delegate came away with a much greater understanding of the issue of appraiser independence.
During the meeting, alternative language regarding appraiser independence was offered to Delegate Conaway. Based upon our offering of this language, Delegate Conaway agreed to withdraw HB 42 prior to the hearing before the House Economic Matters Committee. He is now in the process of drafting alternative legislation regarding appraiser independence, which will be introduced shortly in the House of Delegates. This will be similar to laws that have been passed in 45 other states. I believe that this will be legislation that appraisers can strongly support. The language is likely to be something similar to the following:
No person may make any payment, threat or promise, directly or indirectly, to any person for the purposes of influencing the independent judgment of the person in connection with a residential mortgage loan, or make any payment threat or promise, directly or indirectly, to any appraiser of a property, for the purposes of influencing the independent judgment of the appraiser with respect to the value of the property;
We greatly appreciate the work of all that took the time to contact your legislators on this legislation. Even though we were able to secure the withdrawal of the legislation prior to the hearing, it is likely that, based upon the sheer volume of letters that were received and all of the organizations that were opposed, that HB 42 would have been defeated in the Economic Matters Committee. Thanks again for everyone’s collective efforts in defeating this bill.
The withdrawal of HB 42 prior to the meeting meant that no oral testimony before the committee was required. However, we would like to thank the following organizations for showing up and being prepared to testify in opposition – the Maryland Chapter, DLLR/the Commission of Real Estate Appraisers and Home Inspectors, Union of Real Estate Appraisers, Maryland Bankers Association, Maryland Association of Realtors, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, and several individual appraisers who took the time to show up in Annapolis.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
SD
Scott W. DiBiasio
Manager, State and Industry Affairs
Appraisal Institute
122 C Street, NW, Suite 360
Washington, D.C. 20001
T 202-298-5593
F 202-298-5547
sdibiasio@appraisalinstitute.org
www.appraisalinstitute.org
Hentschel press release
HENTSCHEL PUBLISHES BALTIMORE INDUSTRIAL WATERFRONT STUDY FOR THE ABELL FOUNDATION
View File HENTSCHEL.doc
Valuation Article
The Next Generation of Appraisal Leaders
View File ValuationQ4_P18-23_lowres.pdf
AI Reaches Decision Regarding Affiliation with NAR
Fellow Member...
View File aireachesd.pdf
Appraisal Institute Builds Houses and Hope for Former Marine Through Habitat for Humanity
The Maryland Chapter of the Appraisal Institute decided to celebrate Memorial Day a little differently this year,,,,,
View File HabitatHumanityPressRelease.pdf
Region seen weathering slump
Region seen weathering slump
The outlook
By Lorraine Mirabella | Sun reporter
April 9, 2008
The Baltimore-Washington region is better equipped than much of the nation to weather the economic downturn in commercial real estate, thanks to the proximity of federal government jobs and top universities that attract employers, according to an outlook released yesterday by the Johns Hopkins University's real estate department and a local chapter of the Appraisal Institute.
Trend Watch 2008, an annual survey of about 120 regional experts in real estate, development, investment sales and business, says the federal government will continue to be a stable source of jobs, while universities will attract employers in defense, life sciences and telecommunications, helping to cushion the region's commercial real estate market and keeping property values stable for the next couple of years.
The report, put out by the Maryland chapter of the Appraisal Institute and the Edward St. John Real Estate Department at Hopkins, said the region's commercial market will be helped in part by the federal base realignment, which is expected to shift tens of thousands of civilian and military workers to the region. The report noted that job growth has been strong, with metropolitan Baltimore adding 22,000 new jobs in 2005, 17,000 in 2006 and a projected 9,000 last year.
It's always been the perception ... that the region exhibits greater stability, and it seems to be borne out," said Eric Smart, Trend Watch's project director and a managing principal of real estate consulting firm Bolan Smart Associates. "Something broadly reflected in the interviewees' findings is that there is more or less a balance in supply and demand in the marketplace -- demand has slowed down, and supply has slowed down."
But the report cautioned that the region is not recession-proof. The economy remains uncertain, construction costs are rising, building operating costs are increasing and the credit crunch has limited financing, keeping commercial lending tight for the couple of years.
"At the end of the 1980s, people for a while thought the Baltimore-Washington area was recession-proof, and we did not end up being recession-proof," said Joseph M. Cronyn, a partner with Lipman, Frizzell & Mitchell LLC real estate consultants, and a survey respondent. "Despite all of the strengths and the clear new demand to be created by BRAC (base realignment) for commercial space as well as residential building, we many not be hit as hard by a recession, but we're no more recession-proof than we were at the end of the 1980s."
Most of the base realignment-related growth is expected in the BWI Marshall Airport corridor, Columbia and Harford County, where millions of square feet of office space is under construction or planned. But 80 percent of survey respondents said the impact from base realignment could be delayed because of a funding shortfall to build infrastructure.
Almost half of the experts surveyed said development in the region will decrease over the next one or two years, while a quarter believe it will increase. And more than half of those surveyed said investors should hold, rather than buy or sell, real estate.
As a target for investment, Washington respondents favored their own market, with none choosing Baltimore. Baltimore respondents chose Baltimore and the region as their top choices.
"Real estate is still a valued asset class," the report said. "If the fundamentals are solid, capital may still be available. While the pool of potential investors has shrunk, some continue to be actively involved in acquisitions."
Tighter financing may create some problems for developers in the short run, but could also help in the long run, said Terry Dunkin, a senior vice president and principal of Colliers Pinkard and a survey respondent.
"The banks pulled their horns in earlier than they may have done in past ... and that hopefully will again soften the impact that it otherwise would have had," Dunkin said.
The strongest sector for future development and acquisition will be the multifamily apartment market because of growing demand for rental housing and a dependable stream of income for investors, the report said. The sector has been able to remain aligned with incomes, as opposed to the for-sale market, where rapid price appreciation far outpaced wage growth, experts said.
The industrial sector, which has shown resilience in economic downturns because of the proximity of the federal government and a diminishing supply of industrial land, is also expected to perform well, as is waterfront-anchored development.
The office sector, though, is facing slowing absorption and increasing vacancies. The metro Baltimore office vacancy rate has ranged from 10 percent to 14 percent over the past three years, and is expected to continue to rise.
"From everything I can see, there's softening demand at this point for office space and employment space, and it's because hiring for new jobs is tapering off," Cronyn said.
In the Baltimore area, almost half of the respondents believe the city is an emerging market, with specific emerging neighborhoods identified as Locust Point, Brewers Hill and Penn Station. Opinions were mixed on whether downtown is in danger of becoming overbuilt.
lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com
Appraiser Job Bank Open For Business
Click here to look at the latest openings in the all-new Appraiser Job Bank! If you are a Maryland Chapter of the Appraisal Institute member, find out how to post your openings for free.
Interested in a Career in Appraising?
Click here to find out about the necessary steps to take to become an appraiser in Maryland.
AI Web Site Offers Help in Reporting Client Pressure Problems
The Appraisal Institute has unveiled its Appraisal Independence Action Center (AIAC) on its Web site to assist appraisers in reporting client pressure problems. The AIAC not only directs one to contacts for federally regulated institutions, but also lists various agencies at the state level for complaints against mortgage brokers, non-banking lenders and real estate agents. Take a look at the site!
Do You Want to Become a Certified Residential Appraiser?
The Maryland Chapter of the Appraisal Institute is offering a 45-hour demo alternative package approved by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) based on the 2008 education criteria. Individuals who are seeking the Appraisal Institute SRA designation can take this package as an alternative to the Residential Demonstration Report requirement! Classes will begin May 4 and will take place at the Johns Hopkins Downtown Center in Baltimore. Don't miss this golden opportunity to start your career as a certified residential appraiser! Click here for more information and to register now!
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