Appraisal volume recorded its fourth week of consecutive increases, with volume rising 1.9% for the week of Feb. 14, according to the most recent report from a la mode, an appraisal forms software company that tracks appraisal volume throughout the country.
While volume did grow, the rise wasn’t as great as the week prior, which posted a 4.2% increase.
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(Source: a la mode)
Kevin Golden, director of analytics with a la mode, noted that lower rates continue to bolster the housing market.
The latest mortgage report from Freddie Mac said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.65% for the week ending Feb. 18, 2016. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.76%.
Golden also commented on the report saying, “This year is eerily starting off like 2015. Last year, the MLK holiday week remained positive, but this week’s rise is just 0.1% off last year's.”
This chart shows a comparison of this year to last year.
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(Source: a la mode)
Appraisal volume is an indicator of market strength and has some advantages over mortgage applications. Fallout is less for appraisals since they are ordered later in the mortgage process after credit worthiness determined and there are few multiple-orders.
a la mode captures 50% of the appraiser market – more than 6 million appraisals per year since the fourth quarter of 2006.
