Your objection rings hollow, your personal integrity notwithstanding. It is fact that appraisers were pressured into making false and fraudulent appraisals during the bubble and some are even going to jail because of it. So just because you don’t personally like being lumped in with the bad guys doesn’t mean there were not a lot of bad guys giving fake, false and fraudulent appraisals.
In fact, I seem to remember the comment being “even if the appraisal is wrong today, wait a few months and house prices will go up to it...” Sound familiar?
http://www.allbusiness.com/economy-economic-indicators/economic-indicators-existing/10393248-1.html
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080906/METRO01/809060364/1409/METRO
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/press/pralex.htm
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080817-2104-mortgagemess-appraisers-abridged.html
I could go on for hundreds of pages...
Unfortunately, your comments apply to all appraisers. There are quite a group that have itegrity.
Lumping all appraisers in the “bad” group is like saying any one who was in the military have committed crimes against mankind - which we both no full well is not true - just as it is not true for all appraisers.