Congress Nixes Credit Union Rule on Automated Home Valuations: Status Quo Remains

This bill is all about hitting the brakes on a new rule from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) concerning how credit unions use automated valuation models (AVMs) for estimating property values. Basically, if this bill passes, the NCUA's new rule on "Quality Control Standards for Automated Valuation Models" (89 Fed. Reg. 64538) gets tossed, and it's like it never happened.

Valuation Veto

The core of this bill is congressional disapproval. Congress has the power to review and reject new rules from federal agencies. In this case, they're using that power to nullify the NCUA's rule regarding AVMs. These models are like the computerized tools Zillow or Redfin use, but for credit unions making decisions on mortgages and home equity loans. The now-invalidated rule was published on page 64538 of volume 89 of the Federal Register.

Keeping It Real (Estate)

So, what does this mean in the real world? For credit unions, it means business as usual, sticking with the existing standards for using AVMs. If you are looking for a mortgage or home equity loan, the way the credit union determines your home's value stays the same. There is a possibility that the rejected rule aimed to address issues in how these valuations are done. By rejecting it, those potential problems stick around. On the flip side, if the rule was going to cause headaches for credit unions or make it harder to get loans, this disapproval keeps things running as they were. The challenge is that, without seeing the specifics of the NCUA's original rule, it's tough to say definitively whether this is a 'win' for regular folks or not. It really depends on whether the nixed rule was fixing a problem or creating one.