An interagency task force including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the federal banking agencies today released an action plan to ensure appraisal and valuation equity for all Americans. The task force was created through an executive order issued by President Biden. The action plan is “limited, with few exceptions, to actions that can be undertaken by federal agencies using existing authorities.”
Broadly, the task force recommended a series of actions that would strengthen guardrails against unlawful discrimination in all stages of residential valuation; enhance fair housing and fair lending enforcement; foster a skilled, diverse appraiser workforce; empower consumers to take action; and provide researchers and agencies better data to study and monitor valuation bias.
In the future, the task force also plans to begin exploring the expanded use of alternatives to traditional appraisals; the potential use of “range-of-value” estimates in appraisals; the potential use of alternatives and modifications to the sales comparison approach; and the public sharing of a subset of historical appraisal data.
