It seems appraisers are fairly apathetic about the current housing market. In a recently completed survey conducted by United States Appraisals, 54.7% of respondents said they were mildly confident in the housing market, while 24.9% remained neutral. 

United States Appraisals intends to conduct this survey each quarter in order to monitor trends and opinions in their appraiser network. The company’s nationwide panel of residential appraisers conducted the survey. 

“Appraisers tend to be realistic, focused on their local markets and unmoved by news stories and national numbers,” said Aaron Fowler, president of United States Appraisals.

Fowler added, “We believe they provide a good gauge of the status of the housing market. After the last few years, a mildly strong level of confidence shows some definite improvement in appraiser attitudes.”

Home values received a slightly higher opinion, with 46.2% of respondents reporting a mild increase in values in their local area. Of those surveyed, 15.6% saw a moderate value increase and 24% were neutral. 

Order volume also remained somewhat anemic, with 26.1% reportedly seeing a mild increase, 17.8% saw a moderate increase and 18.5% reported significant volume increases. Only 15.3% of respondents saw a reduction in their order volume.

“We all know the real estate market is a zip code by zip code driven business,” explained Fowler. “Our appraisers are our eyes into the local markets and the backbone of our business. We want to make sure we stay engaged and understand their vision of the marketplace.”