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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM INSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE Assessing Today's Marketplace An exclusive Q&A with Brad Froelich, chief appraiser at USRES, puts the valuation industry into perspective and in focus. H ome prices have just begun to exhibit a steady trend of increases after plummeting for the most part of the last six to seven years, falling as much as 60 percent in some of the hardest-hit markets. More than 11 million borrowers now find themselves owing more on the mortgage than their homes are worth; and some experts warn we may never see double-digit appreciation again. Through all the calamity and wreckage of the housing bust, those working to provide fair and accurate assessments of a home's value have had a front row seat—a seat that shifts and gives with every wave, with every lurch of the marketplace. It's this group, riding the ups and downs, that is perhaps the most misconstrued segment of the industry. Appraisers and valuation professionals have been accused of inflating the real estate bubble. New rules, stringent regulations, and elevated risks have driven many of the most experienced and accomplished property assessors out of the field and have scared new entrants to the workforce off the appraisal career path. Today's valuation practitioners have been belted with criticisms over value assessments that don't match a home's sales price and been blamed for upending mortgage transactions and holding back the recovery. Censure has come from all sides—from homebuilders coping with diminishing consumer demand, agents whose clients harbored unrealistic expectations, and homebuyers and home sellers who inevitably affix their own emotional connection with a home to its "value." Yet one needs only to take a look around to see the distressed state of the market, even today, in what many deem to be the early chapters of a recovery. Appraisers and valuation professionals seek to provide unbiased opinions of value. As Sara W. Stephens, MAI, president of the Appraisal Institute, puts it, "Appraisers don't set the real estate market; they reflect what's happening in the market." DS News sat down for a one-on-one with the chief appraiser at US Real Estate Services, Inc. (USRES), Brad Froelich, to discuss the issues, concerns, and challenges facing valuation professionals today. DS: How do you ensure the accuracy of appraisals in an unstable, up-and-down market? Froelich: With regards to accuracy in the valuation process, we start with the vetting of individuals on our appraisal panel and within our agent network. This has become a crucial piece of our process as a whole and gives us greater confidence in our industry partners. In addition, we consistently allocate assignments to those professionals with extensive local 63