Despite a brief rise last week, appraisal volume fell in the latest report from a la mode, which is provided exclusively to HousingWire.
The 1.3% drop in the National Appraisal Volume Index for the week of Oct. 23 nearly wiped out the 1.5% gain the prior week.
Furthermore, eight of the last 10 weeks recorded negative results.
The four-week average barely moved, coming in at -0.5%.
Check the chart below to see appraisal volume over the past four weeks.
Click to enlarge
(Source: a la mode)
For those new to the data, appraisal volume is an indicator of market strength and holds some advantages over weekly mortgage applications.
For example, fallout is less for appraisals since they are ordered later in the mortgage process, after creditworthiness is determined, and there are few multiple-orders, by the time an appraisal is conducted.
