Speaking at the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) annual conference in Queensland last week, FBAA chief executive Peter White said concerns about the veracity of electronic valuations were wide spread and the coming year would see the body put a greater emphasis on an audit taking place.
“Another [issue] we are not letting go of is electronic valuations. We know the issues in the market place – there is probably no one in this room who will turn around and say they have never had a bad valuation off an electronic platform,” White said.
“Various industries are doing things about it and we will continue on that mission,” he said.
According to White, no audit of electronic valuation systems has ever been conducted, which casts doubt over the outcomes they produce.
“I want to see the data audited because so far no one can say to me that they have actually audited the data that sits on the electronic platforms,” he said.
“That means the outputs are not accurate and that is a problem,” he said.
White’s speech was not the first time he has called for electronic valuations to be looked into.
In late 2014 White called for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to take over the investigation and regulation of electronic mortgage valuations, claiming that brokers were seeing large discrepancies in the values generated by different systems for the same property.
“This is not good enough. Valuations should reflect the true value of a property and incorrect valuations can in some cases prevent buyers from being able to purchase the home they want,” he said in December.
“It’s time to review the model used for valuation assessments and allow a more effective dispute procedure.”
