Ny Appraisal Discrimination

NY Appraisal Discrimination > Exam relevance: Questions on appraisal discrimination appear within the Fair Housing and Real Estate Practice section (~12% of the exam), testing whether you can recognize discriminatory appraisal conduct and connect it to the correct legal framework under federal and New York law. --- ## Why Appraisal Discrimination Matters When a property is appraised, the resulting value affects whether a buyer can get a loan, how much they can borrow, and ultimately whether a deal closes. If an appraiser — or anyone influencing an appraisal — assigns value based on the race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, or color of the people who live in or around a property, that is a violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act. New York law goes further, adding its own protected classes under the NY Human Rights Law (Executive Law Article 15). Appraisal discrimination is a form of valuation bias — it is not limited to appraisers alone. Real estate salespersons, brokers, and lenders can all be implicated if they steer, pressure, or influence an appraisal outcome based on protected characteristics. --- ## Key Concepts ### The Federal Fair Housing Act and Appraisal The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in all terms, conditions, and privileges of a real estate transaction — and that explicitly includes appraisals. The seven federal protected classes are: | Federal Protected Class | |---| | Race | | Color | | Religion (Creed) | | National Origin | | Sex | | Disability (Handicap) | | Familial Status | An appraiser who assigns a lower value to a home *because* the surrounding neighborhood is predominantly composed of a racial or ethnic minority group…