Data quality, reserve studies, and new tools for appraisers
In this issue:
- Why data quality may matter more than ever as artificial intelligence and AVMs evolve
- Register for our next free webinar on reserve studies for HOA and condominium associations
- Read the latest blog on market analysis and highest and best use—and register for the June 29 course
- Become an AI Key Contact and help strengthen the profession’s voice in advocacy
Insights
When More Data Isn't Better Data
Artificial intelligence, automated valuation models (AVMs), and hybrid appraisal products continue to evolve. Much of the profession's attention to date has focused on what these technologies can do and whether they will replace portions of the appraisal process.
But a more fundamental question deserves attention: How reliable is the data that powers these systems?
No valuation model, whether developed by an appraiser, an AVM provider, or an artificial intelligence platform, can produce reliable results from flawed information. As the profession becomes increasingly dependent on large datasets and automated analysis, data quality may become one of the most important factors affecting valuation credibility.
Appraisers have long understood this reality. A property's value conclusion is only as sound as the data used to support it. Yet many participants in the real estate ecosystem assume that more data automatically produces better results. In practice, inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent information can introduce significant risk into any valuation process.
Consider some of the data sources used throughout the real estate industry. Public records may contain errors or lag current market conditions. MLS systems often vary in terms of completeness, underrepresentation, and consistency. Property characteristics such as gross living area, condition, or renovation history may differ depending on the source. These issues are not new, but they become more significant as technology takes on a larger role in valuation. Artificial intelligence systems excel at identifying patterns and analyzing vast amounts of information, but they cannot independently determine whether underlying data is accurate. Poor-quality data can be amplified through automated processes, creating a false sense of precision.
This presents an opportunity for the appraisal profession.
Appraisers are uniquely trained to evaluate not only valuation conclusions, but also the quality of the data supporting them. Identifying inconsistencies, validating comparable sales, recognizing market anomalies, and understanding local market conditions all require professional judgment.
As valuation technology evolves, the profession's greatest value may increasingly lie in its ability to verify, interpret, and contextualize information. Technology can analyze data faster than humans. The more important question is whether the data being analyzed deserves our confidence in the first place.
Your Benefits
This online portal provides AI members focused on residential valuation access to important information about the energy efficiency of more than 2 million homes. The homes in the portal have been rated for energy efficiency by RESNET Certified Home Energy Raters, as part of RESNET's Home Energy Rating System (HERS).
The online portal offers the following:
- HERS Index Score
- HERS Rater that rated home
- The projected energy use of the home
- The projected energy savings of the home
- Ability for appraisers to search by zip code for homes with a range of HERS Index scores
Get access to resources and tools to better understand the energy performance and efficiency of homes being appraised and find comparable homes in the market.
If you are interested in learning more about the RESNET Appraiser Portal, visit its website and register to watch the previously recorded webinar illustrating the portal's value to residential appraisers.
AI Blog
Market analysis and highest and best use are often treated as sections of a report. In reality, they shape every valuation decision that follows.
A new AI blog explores why understanding market conditions, buyer behavior, and highest and best use is essential to credible residential appraisal practice—and how Residential Market Analysis and Highest & Best Use helps appraisers strengthen the judgment behind their analyses.
The next live online session begins June 29. Read the blog and register today.
Trending Topics Thursdays:
Sign up for our next free webinar
Reserve Studies for HOA & Condominium Associations - What Appraisers Need to Know
June 18, 2026 at 11:00 AM CDT
Reserve studies are increasingly shaping how community associations plan, fund, and disclose long‑term capital needs, and this has real implications for valuation, risk, and marketability. In this one‑hour, appraiser‑focused webinar, a reserve-study practitioner and an HOA general manager (end user) discuss how reserve studies are developed and used, what boards and managers look for when hiring reserve professionals, and practical ways appraisers can interpret and evaluate reserve-related information when working on condominium and HOA‑governed properties. The program also highlights emerging legislative requirements affecting association reserves and introduces how appraisers can leverage core cost approach competencies to expand into reserve-study work.
Key takeaways include:
- Reserve study fundamentals: scope, major components, and common terminology
- How associations use reserve studies for budgeting, capital planning, and communicating funding needs
- What an HOA/condominium manager looks for when procuring reserve-study services and reviewing deliverables
- Legislative and regulatory trends influencing reserve requirements and disclosures
- Opportunity for appraisers: how reserve studies align with, and can leverage, core cost approach competencies, plus practical career pathway insights for adding reserve studies to your service offerings
Panelists:
- Bernie Guthrie, General Manager, CMCA, AMS, LSM, PCAM, Lake of the Woods Association, Inc
- Jon (Jay) Dawson, SRA, AI-RRS, RS, Edge Realty Advisors
Advocacy Updates
Senate Exchange Highlights Continued Push Against Syndicated Easement Abuse
At a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing, Senator Chuck Grassley underscored the growing bipartisan resolve to confront abusive syndicated conservation easements and praised the Treasury and the IRS for maintaining a strong enforcement posture. “These arrangements perverted a charitable deduction to turn a significant profit,” Grassley said, urging the agencies to stand by recent settlement offers and resist pressure to weaken their approach.
The exchange carries added weight given recent legal and regulatory developments. Congress addressed the issue through the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act in SECURE 2.0, and the Treasury and IRS finalized regulations in 2024 identifying many syndicated conservation easement transactions as listed transactions. For the Appraisal Institute, which has consistently supported stronger enforcement and reform in this area, the hearing reinforces the importance of curbing abuse to protect both public confidence and the credibility of legitimate appraisal practice.
Become an AI Key Contact
Relationships matter in advocacy. The Appraisal Institute's Key Contact Program connects members with their elected officials and helps ensure appraisers have a voice in the policymaking process.
Whether you already know your member of Congress or are interested in building that relationship, becoming a Key Contact is one of the most effective ways to support the profession.
Key Contacts commit to participating in at least one advocacy activity during the year, such as meeting with legislators, attending a town hall, hosting a member of Congress, or supporting an AI political action committee (PAC).
Help strengthen our grassroots network and advance the interests of the appraisal profession, become an AI Key Contact today.
Member Moves and Media
Smith Reappointed to Texas Real Estate Research Advisory Council
W.F. “Dubb” Smith, MAI, of The W.F. Smith Company in Dripping Springs, was recently reappointed to the Texas Real Estate Research Advisory Council, continuing more than a decade of service on the body as a gubernatorial appointee.
Real Estate Horizons
Stay updated and check out links to the latest major real estate industry stories!
More Opportunities to Learn
Search the latest educational offerings! Find National and Chapter-sponsored classroom, synchronous, and online opportunities.
Your Community
AI PAREA Celebrates Its First Certified Residential Graduate
The Appraisal Institute’s AI PAREA program has reached an important milestone with its first graduate of the Certified Residential pathway. As the appraisal profession continues to adjust to ongoing industry changes, this achievement highlights steady progress in expanding flexible, practical pathways into the field. With participants actively advancing through the program and strong interest from prospective candidates, AI PAREA is helping broaden access to appraisal education and support the profession’s long-term sustainability, creating new opportunities as the industry continues to evolve.
Until Next week
Team Appraisal Institute
