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Task force chair backs bill to require new-home sales data in public listing systems to aid appraisal equity
Summary
SB441 would require sellers or their agents to report final sale prices of new construction to a multiple-listing service or comparable public database within 30 days. The change flows from a state task force on appraisal equity that found missing new-construction comps can depress valuations in certain communities.
Senate Bill 441, discussed Feb. 6, would require builders, developers or agents to enter the final sale price for newly constructed residential properties into a multiple-listing service (MLS) or a similarly accessible database within 30 days of closing.
Jacqueline Priestley, chair of the state task force on property appraisal and valuation equity, told the committee the change is one of several recommendations intended to reduce persistent misvaluation of homes in minority communities. The task force found that many new-construction sales are not available in commonly used comparables data sets; as a result appraisers lack readily available transacton-level comps that reflect modern construction and local market values. Priestley said reporting final sale prices to MLS (or an equivalent publicly accessible system) would help homeowners and appraisers secure more accurate valuations, support reconsideration-of-value processes and close valuation gaps observed in some counties.
Maryland Realtors’ representatives and some building-industry witnesses testified about a conflict of interest in mandating use of a proprietary, subscription-based MLS product. They asked the committee to confirm that the bill’s "similarly accessible database" language is workable and not a de facto marketplace subsidy. Builders and housing-industry witnesses also suggested state data sources such as SDAT as a possible alternative feed for sale-price data; staff and task-force members said SDAT and county land-records systems sometimes lag or do not offer the same structured, near-real-time sales information as an MLS feed.
Committee members asked whether existing recording systems already contain the data and whether the bill would require new administrative or membership costs for sellers or brokers. Witnesses suggested the issue is timing and structured access: while deed and transfer information exists, it is not always posted in a searchable, standardized way on a near-real-time basis for appraisers. Task-force members said the MLS approach is intended to create a timely and consistent public feed of comparable sales for new construction.
Ending: The bill drew generally favorable comments from task-force members and housing-equity advocates and practical questions from trade groups. Stakeholders asked the sponsor for options that do not require mandatory vendor subscriptions and recommended evaluating SDAT or other public access mechanisms as alternatives before the committee took further action.
