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Comment

For the 30 years I've been licensed, we have long been held that race is not a factor in appraisal development. However, Demographics and the relationship between home prices and income have always been a factor. As an appraiser among appraisers, I have yet to see anything involving race with the exception of an appraiser who tried to say that Hmong poultry farmers were "uninformed" in a bankruptcy hearing. He was not only repudiated but surrendered his license in lieu of a fine and sanction.
But since we deal in areas where the working class consists of many Hispanic and even Marshallese are working the local chicken plants, Walmart warehouses, etc. we may work in areas where people have sought to live solely because they have a common language and culture. As for blacks, NW Arkansas isn't home to a significant number, most who are here are college educated, middle class and have no problem living wherever they like. They come in here for jobs in management with Tysons, and other poultry companies or with Walmart and the many satellite vendors who are from all over the world.
I cannot think of anywhere or any circumstance that would suggest the people here are not living in places they can afford. The fact many of the working class are in older and smaller homes is reflected in that. And people seeking older smaller homes include retirees on limited incomes, young people, and others of any number of "minorities" who are simply living within their means. In many towns nearby (Oklahoma in particular) a high percentage are Cherokee Indian. My own family has members who are card-carrying members of the Cherokee Nation.
I reject the notion that appraiser have some "unconscious bias" against minorities or even neighborhoods. We simply draw upon an area's demographic to identify economic factors that allow us to choose truly comparable property to the subject. We strive to value such properties neither high nor low, but an honest, independent and as best possible unbiased manner. We even discuss among and try to remind ourselves that we cannot bring our personal feelings into the valuation. An example. I have a really bad knee. I would never buy a house with a high porch let along a multi-level home. I know I don't like them. So when appraising such a house, I have to remind myself that most people don't mind such homes, and I cannot let my bias impact my valuations. I don't believe that there is such a thing as an unconscious bias against races. Of all factors, most of us who are European in background are painfully aware of the damage such a bias can do.