New rule could hurt home appraisal business

A new rule took effect Wednesday that changes the appraisal requirements for certain home sales. Transactions valued at $400,000 or less will no longer require a traditional appraisal. The previous threshold of $250,000 was set back in 1994. The change, approved by federal banking regulators, is partly an adjustment for inflation, but it’s also a recognition that technology can do a lot of the work people used to do. That presents a challenge to the appraisal industry, which employed more than 80,000 people last year.

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