Why Fannie Mae Doesn’t Want Home Appraisers Calling Neighborhoods ‘Desirable’
Fannie Mae is urging appraisers to stop using loaded language such as “crime-ridden area” and “integrated community” when valuing homes.
Even saying something as seemingly benign as “desirable neighborhood” in a home appraisal report can be problematic, in part because “desirable” has been coded as “white” throughout much of housing market history.
Photographer: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
“Show, don’t tell,” has always been a guiding rule for writers. Now it’s also the advice being given to home appraisers as the industry comes to terms with its own biases.
Fannie Mae, or the Federal National Mortgage Association, recently identified “problematic phrases” that should be avoided in appraisals — the valuation reports that it and others rely on to provide financing to would-be homeowners. Four examples of this language are listed in Fannie Mae’s June newsletter for appraisal professionals: “Crime-ridden area,” “desirable neighborhood,” “affordable neighborhood,” and “integrated community” are all considered bad for business now. Fannie Mae instead suggests more objective descriptions, like stating an area’s crime rate.