Housing industry leaders meet with Andrew Cuomo to discuss appraisal rules

Housing industry leaders met with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo yesterday to discuss modifying some rules in the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. Industry leaders blame the code, which was created to protect appraisers from pressure to inflate home valuations, for the recent increase in below-market valuations that have further slowed a recovery for the housing sector. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors, 20 percent of its members claimed to have lost at least one deal due to low valuations. Under the code, anyone whose compensation depends on the sale of a home is banned from ordering appraisals. However, the code does not explicitly prohibit interactions between housing professionals and appraisers. To clear up confusion, housing industry leaders say they would like to see a new set of guidelines that clearly spells out what type of interactions are allowed so fear about breaking the code may be alleviated. [CNN]