Virginia Tech researchers and students conducted a survey of Virginia residential real estate appraisers to analyze the patterns of fees earned in 2013. Prior to the release of this report, no data existed that defined “customary and reasonable” residential real estate appraisal fees in Virginia.

Figure 1: Virginia Counties with Reported Numbers of Appraisals

This project surveyed Virginia real estate appraisers and resulted in the third report of its type to be conducted in the United States and the first in Virginia. The survey was conducted by the Virginia Center for Housing Research and the Virginia Tech Program in Real Estate in the spring of 2014 and focused on fees paid for residential real estate appraisals in Virginia in 2013.  The survey was conducted in response to recent amendments to the Truth in Lending Act modified by the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (also known as Dodd-Frank) that require lenders to pay appraisers a “customary and reasonable fee” for residential appraisal services in their geographic market.  Prior to the release of this report, no data existed that defined ‘customary and reasonable’ residential real estate appraisal fees in Virginia. Dodd-Frank suggests that university research can serve as the basis for establishing local market standards. The legislation defines a customary and reasonable fee as a fee that would be received for “comparable appraisal services performed in the geographic market of the property being appraised.”