The Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) has been busy making some changes to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) recently and it’s time to share all the details.  Aloft is a team of appraisal professionals and in support of our fellow appraisers, we’re sharing some key changes you'll want to know about and prepare for in 2024.

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The ASB went through a meticulous review process, starting back in June 2021 when they released a Discussion Draft, asking appraisers and appraisal service users if they understood the importance of avoiding "unsupported conclusions." Then came five exposure drafts and public meetings in which industry participants shared their thoughts and opinions. This culminated in May in an adoption of a final version that takes effect on January 1, 2024.

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First, we’re taking a look at the ETHICS RULE. The ASB added a brand new Nondiscrimination Section and said goodbye to some jargon about supported and unsupported conclusions in the Conduct section.   This is a critical step in promoting fairness and equality in the appraisal world.

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Another key area is in transfers and sales where the ASB wanted to be more inclusive, doing so by adding in the term "and other transfers" to various Standards Rules. They realized that a sale is always a transfer, but not every transfer is a sale. 

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Now we’ll turn to calling out some important definitions. The ASB has retired Assignment Elements, Misleading, and Relevant Characteristics. Then the flip side, they revised the definitions of Appraiser, Personal Inspection, and Workfile. 

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Moving on to Advisory Opinions, there are some significant revisions: 

• Advisory Opinion 2, Inspection of Subject Property, got a refresh to align with the modified definition of Personal Inspection.
• Advisory Opinion 16, Fair Housing Laws and Appraisal Report Content had to retire. The changes in the ETHICS RULE made it no longer relevant. 
• NEW: Advisory Opinion 39, Antidiscrimination.  This rule is intended to guide appraisers through the new Nondiscrimination section of the ETHICS RULE. 
• NEW: Advisory Opinion 40, a guide to Antidiscrimination and the Research, Analysis, and Reporting of Location Data, including Demographics, for Residential Real Property Appraisal Assignments.  This one is much-needed guidance and added context for appraisers.

The appraisal world is always evolving and the ASB is committed to enhancing professional appraisal practices and making sure we all play by the industry's rules. Our appraiser team at Aloft is ready to embrace these updates and keep appraising with style and compliance!

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You can check out the published summaries of the 2024 USPAP at appraisalfoundation.org :

• The Short Summary of Actions can be viewed here.
• The Detailed Summary of Actions can be found here.

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Or just stay tuned here at our blog as we follow and share more information prior to January 1, 2024!

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