Just to keep any of you who might have an interest in the ongoing controversy over the appraisal reforms, here is an update from HousingWire on new legislation.

Two lawmakers serving on the House Financial Services Committee introduced HR 3044 late last week in an effort to temporarily lift new requirements from valuations and the way appraisals are ordered.

The bill would impose an 18-month moratorium on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, which took effect May 1.

Both sponsors of the legislation bring a history in housing. Rep. Travis Childers (D-Miss.), who introduced the bill, bears a background in real estate while cosponsor Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) sports a background in community development and single-family and custom home building.

It appears as if the line of attack is going to center on out-of-market appraisers valuing properties with which they are unfamiliar. At this point in time most of the arguments I’ve seen along these lines have been purely anecdotal but that probably plays into the hands of the opponents of the HVCC reforms. It will be a hard argument to refute and has a certain element of emotion. I expect that we’ll be back to the old system sooner rather than later.