Wall Street Journal: "Reappraising Home Appraisers"

The WSJ covers many of the same ideas that we've already mentioned here on this blog:

• Appraisers are coming under fire (again) for allegedly low-balling home values.
• Appraisers are having to work harder for lower fees.

Appraisals are supposed to shield home buyers from paying too much and lenders from overestimating the value of collateral. If appraisals come in too high, buyers may overpay, making defaults more likely. If they are too low, it becomes hard to sell or refinance homes. Many real-estate agents and builders say that the pendulum has swung too far toward caution, and that lowball appraisals threaten to snuff out any recovery in the housing market.

You can read the full article on the Wall Street Journal website.