Bradford Technologies Invests in the Future To Serve You Today
We’re delighted to announce that it we have added members to our Premium Technical Support team this year to better serve ClickFORMS users – who have grown by 10% in the past six months. With the expanded team, ClickFORMS users can be confident that we’ll respond to any questions or comments more quickly than ever before!

Also joining the team at Bradford are three new programmers, who have been diligently working on a slew of new products and services ClickFORMS users will soon enjoy. Already this year, Bradford Technologies has released an automated service to aid appraisers with the new 1004MC form, which saves time and stress on every appraisal report. Bradford programmers are also working to make ClickFORMS even better, with new features like carry over comments and a ClickFORMS word processor expected to be released this fall.

Bradford Technologies has also been partnering with other companies across the continent to make more products and services available to appraisers everywhere. For example, Bradford Technologies and Centract Settlement Services in Canada have just announced an exclusive partnership agreement to bring ClickFORMS residential appraisal software to the desktops of Canadian appraisers. Centract and Bradford have jointly developed a custom version of Bradford’s existing ClickFORMS Canadian Edition, which will be available to all appraisers working with Centract including mapping and AreaSketch programs. More information about the revamped ClickFORMS Canadian product will be announced soon.

ClickFORMS 1004MC Service Now Available
The 1004MC service easily and seamlessly integrates your MLS data with your ClickFORMS Appraisal Software. Our hassle-free and fully automated service will fill in the 1004MC data grid and enhance your appraisal report by adding detailed analysis, charts and comment addendums. We already have hundreds of users utilizing the service and this is what they have to say about it so far:

"I LOVE IT! Your product is easy to use and quick. The data is easy to load and saves me the time to populate, copy and move data in the excel spreadsheet I have been using."
Greg Walker, Almaden Appraisals

"I recently purchased the new 1004MC Service just a few weeks ago, and couldn't be more impressed; once data has been saved, it seamlessly imports within ClickFORMS with just a click of the mouse.  I've used other 1004MC software and this is by far easier to use, faster, less expensive and adds another level of professionalism with importing of charts and graphs. I'm saving hours every day with this new software — it's a no brainer upgrade, every appraiser should have this!"
Rick Silva, Utah Appraisal Solutions

Learn more about the time-saving 1004MC Service at http://1004MCService.com.

Fannie, Freddie clarify new standards post-HVCC
The Wall Street Journal reports Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have recently undergone steps to clarify appraiser regulations that have been questioned since the implementation of the HVCC.

According to the WSJ, Freddie Mac has recently reiterated their position that appraisals must only be conducted by appraisers with local area knowledge of the subject property. This mirrors a similar set of guidelines published by Fannie Mae in April of this year. This issue has stemmed from a series of complaints brought up by both the National Association of Realtors and from mortgage brokers.

Another issue addressed by Fannie and Freddie concerns communication between appraisers and real estate agents. Many real estate agents and appraisers have been confused on where the boundaries of communication lie since the implementation of the HVCC. However, Fannie Mae included in a statement that communication between realtors and appraisers is not only permitted, but is often encouraged. "Realtors can often be a source of data in the market," the statement from Fannie Mae read.

With lenders, realtors and appraisers all finding issues with the HVCC, the code of conduct has come under fire in recent months from professional organizations within the real estate industry. In response to these concerns, James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said the code has had some "birthing pains" but will eventually "make the appraisal process more professional."

For more information about this issue, visit WSJ.com:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124830543450973871.html

U.S. Housing Prices on the Rise
The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. housing prices in major metropolitan areas rose in May for the first time in nearly three years, according to a report by Standard & Poor.

Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller index, which tracks home prices in 20 metropolitan areas, rose 0.5% for the three-month period ending in May. This marks the first rise in the index in 34 months.

In a statement published in The Washington Post, Ian Shepherdson, the chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, expressed optimism in regards to the U.S. economy.

"Activity is now recovering, and with inventory falling, prices are dropping much less quickly and could even rise a bit over the next few months," Shepherdson wrote in a research note. "We would not expect any gains to last, because prices are still high relative to incomes and rents … but this is still very welcome news today."

More information about these recent economic developments can be found in the below web links to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

http://sbk.online.wsj.com/article/SB124878477560186517.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/28/AR2009072801078.html

NAR Survey Shows HVCC Impacting Housing Markets
An analysis recently conducted by the National Association of Realtors reveals that the implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) appears to be having adverse impacts on the housing markets. NAR Research sent a survey on this topic to a random sample of approximately 40,000 NAR members, which generated 3,600 responses.

A summary of the analysis of REALTOR® responses is as follows:

• Approximately 76% of REALTORS® representing buyers or sellers indicated that the time to obtain a completed appraisal increased after May 1.
  
• The number of Appraiser members reporting they obtain over 50% of assignments from Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) increased from 13% to 40% after May 1st.
  
• Similarly, 71% of REALTORS® noted an increase in the use of out of area appraisers.
  
• Approximately half of NAR Appraiser members reported a reduction in fees received by them.
  
• More than 70% of NAR Appraiser members reported that consumers were paying higher fees.
  

More information and statistics uncovered by this study can be found by clicking here.