Real Estate Appraisals: Final Rule

Summary

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the agencies), today approved a final rule that allows financial institutions to defer completion of appraisals and evaluations for 120 days after the closing of residential and commercial real estate transactions. The agencies are providing this flexibility for completing appraisals and evaluations to help financial institutions meet the immediate liquidity needs of borrowers during the coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) emergency. Recent health and safety restrictions relating to the COVID-19 emergency have caused delays in performing and completing the real estate appraisals and evaluations needed to comply with federal appraisal regulations.

The final rule becomes effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register. The final rule expires on December 31, 2020, unless extended by the agencies. The final rule adopts the interim final rule issued by the agencies on April 17, 2020, without substantive change.

Highlights

This final rule provides temporary deferral of the requirements for appraisals and evaluations under the agencies’ appraisal regulations. The deferrals

• apply to residential and commercial real estate transactions, excluding loans for acquisition, development, and construction of real estate.
• allow a bank up to 120 days from the closing of a transaction to obtain the appraisal or evaluation required under the appraisal regulations.
• require a bank to use best efforts and available information to develop a well-informed estimate of the collateral value of the subject property when underwriting the transaction.
• are authorized until December 31, 2020, when the final rule terminates.

The final rule clarifies that transactions for the “acquisition, development, and construction” of real estate excluded from the 120-day deferral period means, for purposes of this rule, those loans described in the Instructions for Schedule RC-C, “Loans and Lease Financing Receivables,” Part I, “Loans and Leases,” item 1.a, “Construction, Land Development, and Other Land Loans,” of the call report.

Further Information

Please contact G. Kevin Lawton, Appraiser and Real Estate Specialist, at (202) 649-6670; or Mitchell Plave, Special Counsel, at (202) 649-5490.

Jonathan V. Gould
Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel

Related Links

• "Interagency Statement on Appraisals and Evaluations for Real Estate Related Financial Transactions Affected by the Coronavirus" (PDF)
• “Real Estate Appraisals: Final Rule” (PDF)