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Appraising with Inventory Shortages and Surpluses

Newz: UAD Quality Ratings,

Appraising with Inventory Shortages and Surpluses

December 5, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: When a Property Owner Wants to Do the Appraiser’s Job
  • Understanding UAD Quality Ratings (Updated for UAD 3.6 and the New URAR)
  • Gothic-Inspired ‘Fairytale Castle’ in Miami’s Exclusive Coconut Grove Michigan Hits the Market for $24 Million
  • Navigating the Challenges of Inventory Shortages and Surpluses in Real Estate: Insights from a Chief Appraiser at a National AMC By Jim Jenkins, Chief Appraiser
  • What Is a Scatter Chart Analysis in Appraisal?
  • 53% of U.S. homes lost value in the past year, the most since 2012 – Zillow
  • MBA:  Mortgage applications decreased 1.4 percent from one week earlier

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Understanding UAD Quality Ratings (Updated for UAD 3.6 and the New URAR)

Excerpts: Quality ratings are one of the most familiar parts of UAD, but the way appraisers report them has changed under UAD 3.6 and the new dynamic Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR). While the Q1–Q6 scale remains in place, the way you apply, support, and reconcile quality is more structured and data-driven than in the legacy forms.

What “Quality” Means in UAD 3.6

In UAD 3.6, quality represents the materials, craftsmanship, and construction standards of a dwelling. The familiar Q1 through Q6 framework still applies, but the workflow is different:

Quality is no longer a single, form-level checkbox.

You now provide quality ratings in multiple places:

  • Exterior Quality Rating (Dwelling Exterior section)
  • Interior Quality Rating (Unit Interior section)
  • Kitchen and Bathroom Detail tables
  • Overall Quality (reconciled in Section 15)
  • The “overall” rating is informed by the component-level data you report in these earlier sections.

Other topics include:

  • What Does UAD Stand For?
  • What Are the Quality of Construction Ratings?
  • Breaking Down the UAD Quality Ratings (Q1–Q6)
  • How Quality Is Applied in the New URAR
  • Tips for Applying Quality Ratings Credibly

Final Thoughts

Quality ratings remain an important part of UAD, but the approach is more precise now. UAD 3.6 pushes appraisers to rely on observable details rather than broad descriptions or market norms. When you follow the definitions, support your ratings with the structured data, and reconcile logically, the quality rating becomes a clear and defensible part of your analysis.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Comprehensive and well written. Worth reading.

Read more!!

Posted in: appraisal, appraisal business, appraisal charts and graphs, real estate market

ADU vs. Two-Family Property for Appraisers

Newz: ADU vs. Two-Family Property,
Everyone Must Be Ready for UAD 3.6

November 21, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA: Protecting My Appraisal Report
  • How to Identify a Single-Family with ADU vs. Two-Family Property
  • $1 Million Midcentury Modern Ranch House on Lake Michigan Holds a Wild Surprise in the Basement
  • Top Appraisers Advise on How to Generate New Business
  • When One Bulb Fails… Why Everyone Must Be Ready for UAD 3.6 By Tony Pistilli
  • A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Understanding the New UAD 3.6 Appraisal Report By Tom Horn
  • MBA: Mortgage applications decreased 5.2 percent from one week earlier

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SFR or 2 units with an ADU?

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How to Identify a Single-Family with ADU vs. Two-Family Property

Excerpts: Across the country, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are becoming more common. Cities and counties are updating zoning laws to encourage them, whether to increase housing supply, create affordable rental options, or allow families to live closer together. Appraisers need to understand how ADUs fit into their local markets, how they’re used and perceived, and how to properly distinguish them from true two-family properties.

The presence of an additional living unit can complicate the appraisal process by making it difficult for you, the appraiser, to know how to classify the subject property. How do you know whether you’re dealing with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or a second unit? In this article, you’ll learn about ADU meaning and types as well as how to identify a single-family with ADU vs. two-family property.

Topics include:

  • What Is an ADU?
  • Do ADUs Add Value to a Property?
  • Types of ADUs
  • What Is a Two-Family Property?
  • Is It a Single-Family with an ADU or Two-Family Property?

To read more and watch an ADU video, Click Here

My comments: Good explanations of ADU issues. Well done short video. UAD 3.6 requires including details on ADUs.

Read more!!

Posted in: ADUs, appraisal business, UAD 3.6

Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide Updates

Newz: Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide Updates, Appraisers and Certainty in Mortgage Lending

November 14, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA: Conflicting Assignments and Professional Ethics
  • Beyond Terminology: What Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide Updates Mean for Appraisers
  • Genius’ Midcentury Modern Home Designed by Jimi Hendrix’s Studio Architect Lists in Woodstock for $3.5 Million
  • App-solutely Clueless: When Sales Tries to School Appraisers
  • Trump Defends 50-Year Mortgage Plan as ‘Not a Big Deal’ After Furious Backlash
  • The Strategic Advantage of Certainty in Mortgage Lending What it means for appraisals
  • MBA: Mortgage applications increased 0.6 percent from one week earlier

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Changes to Fannie Selling Guide dated April 15, 2014

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Beyond Terminology: What Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide Updates Mean for Appraisers

by Scott DiBiasio, Director of Government Affairs, Appraisal Institute

Excerpts: Fannie Mae recently issued important updates to its Selling Guide that may look like technical revisions but have significant implications for appraisers, consumers, and the valuation profession. The most visible changes involve the retirement of the term “appraisal waiver” in favor of “value acceptance” and adjustments to the Reconsideration of Value (ROV) process. Together, these changes reflect the GSEs’ modernization priorities—but also highlight the ongoing tension between efficiency and transparency.

From “Appraisal Waiver” to “Value Acceptance”

Fannie Mae has decided to eliminate the term “appraisal waiver” from the Selling Guide, replacing it entirely with “value acceptance.” Even the parenthetical “(appraisal waiver)” has been removed. The stated goal is to unify industry language and create consistency across the valuation spectrum.

That may sound harmless, but let’s be clear: the average consumer is not going to recognize that “value acceptance” means their lender has waived an appraisal altogether. That lack of clarity undermines transparency at a critical stage of the lending process.

The Appraisal Institute (AI) will absolutely continue to call these products what they are: appraisal waivers. Language matters. Consumers and appraisers alike deserve accuracy, not euphemisms, when it comes to understanding whether an independent appraisal has been performed.

Why This Matters for Appraisers

Taken together, the Selling Guide updates and the expansion of waiver-based models point to several key takeaways:

1. Language shapes perception. If consumers don’t recognize that value acceptance is an appraisal waiver, transparency suffers. That’s why AI will continue to call these products by their true name.

2. Efficiency is not clarity. Simplifying disclosures may ease compliance for lenders, but it risks reducing borrower awareness of their rights.

3. Modernization is accelerating. With waivers, UPDs, and hybrid appraisals expanding, appraisers must adapt their skills to remain at the center of the valuation process.

4. Incursion is real. Regulators, property data collectors, and third-party vendors are positioning themselves between appraisers and their clients. The profession cannot afford to cede ground.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: I had never read about what is discussed in this article. I don’t always read the Fannie Selling Guide Updates. Now I know why it is important.

When I wrote my article on Appraisal Regulatory Chaos in the monthly Appraisal Today newsletter, Scott let me include excerpts from what he has written about it plus sent me new information. This article has a few “promotional” comments about AI and classes, but well worth reading.

Read more!!

Posted in: appraisal business, bias, Fannie, UAD 3.6

Appraisers – Disclose When You Did Not Do the Inspection 

Newz: 24 Hour Appraisal, Disclose When Some One Else Did the Inspection

November 7, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: When a Property Owner Wants to Do the Appraiser’s Job
  • The Hazards of Signing a URAR When Another Person Conducts the Inspection
  • Honolulu Diamond Head Estate for $34,000,000
  • The 24-Hour Appraisal Funded by Appraisers
  • How Policy, Data, and Technology Are Reshaping Lending and Valuation: MBA 2025 Recap
  • MBA: Mortgage applications decreased 1.9 percent from one week earlier

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The Hazards of Signing a URAR When Another Person Conducts the Inspection

By Dan Bradley

Excerpts: When using the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) to report the results of an appraisal, the appraiser’s signature on the report is not merely a formality, it is a certification. By affixing his or her signature, the appraiser is certifying to (among other things) having personally made an interior and exterior inspection of the subject property.

Clients, AMCs, and state regulatory agencies are reporting that appraisers are increasingly delegating their inspection responsibilities to others yet are signing the URAR certifying they made a personal inspection.

What are the risks if an appraiser signs a URAR report certifying an interior and exterior inspection that was actually conducted by someone else?

Conclusion

Signing a URAR appraisal report that states the appraiser personally inspected the property, when in fact another party performed the inspection, is a serious liability risk. USPAP permits an appraiser to value a property that they did not make an interior and exterior inspection.

However, USPAP does not allow an appraiser to communicate a misleading report. A report that falsely indicates that an individual made an inspection of a property when in fact they did not is misleading, and could result in disciplinary action, civil liability, or other negative consequences.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Good reminder, especially with the use by the GSEs of alternative valuation methods. Of course, you know nothing about the qualifications of the person doing the inspection. The article did not specifically address UAD 3.6, but I assume it would have the same certification section and requirements.

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Posted in: AMCs, appraisal, Appraisal fees, UAD 3.6

Fannie: Inspection and Reporting Tips UAD 3.6

Newz: Fannie: Inspection and Reporting Tips UAD 3.6, Appraising Haunted Houses

October 31, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: Legal Request for Old Appraisal
  • Inspection and Reporting Tips for Appraiser Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) Specification Issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
  • Penthouse One – 3 Story in Florida listed for $47,500,000
  • “No Name” Licenses, No Accountability: From Highways to Housing
  • Appraising Haunted Houses
  • Foolish Mortals or Bargain Buyers: 1 in 2 Americans Would Buy a ‘Haunted’ House for the Right Price
  • Mortgage applications increased 7.1 percent from one week earlier

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Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) Specification Issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Document Version 1.0

October 21, 2025

Excerpts: Navigating changes to the appraisal process can be complex – make the transition to the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 easier with the new Inspection and Reporting Tips for Appraisers guide. This resource clarifies key differences between the new Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) and legacy UAD 2.6 forms, providing the information you need when researching or physically inspecting a property.

The purpose of this document is to assist the appraiser by highlighting the notable differences between UAD 3.6 and UAD 2.6, and direct the appraiser to appropriate section(s) in the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) Reference Guide on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac UAD web pages.

The document offers tips for different sections within the URAR that may be helpful to an individual who is completing various aspects of an appraisal assignment.

• Inspection Tips: When physically inspecting the property, or

• Reporting Tips: When researching and completing the URAR, including new information that may require research from a website, the homeowner, or other source.

Items to Note:

• When there are no material differences between UAD 3.6 and UAD 2.6 with respect to

information collected, those URAR sections are omitted from this document. For example, the

information collected for “Assignment Information” is not included below because it’s very similar between UAD 3.6 and UAD 2.6.

• Review the URAR Reference Guide chapters 22 through 24 to understand the dynamic nature of the grids (Sales Comparison, Rental Comparison, GRM Comparison).

To access the Inspection and Reporting Tips for Appraisers resource, Click Here.

My comments: Worth reading. The only document I have read that compares UAD 2.6 (current form reports) and UAD 3.6 in specific fields. Uses tables that make it easier to understand. Refers to F-1, the document that contains information on fields. Hopefully, when you are doing UAD 3.6 Reports, your software will pull in the relevant sections from F-1.

I have written 6 articles on UAD 3.6 in my paid monthly newsletter, including a list of what has changed on each page of the sample SFR1 (Single Family) report. The November newsletter includes an update on software vendors and where to get demos. None have completed their UAD 3.6 software, including verification by GSEs.

Read more!!

Posted in: adjustments, appraisal how to, real estate market, UAD 3.6

Appraisal Adjustments Tips

Newz: California College offers Appraiser Training, Appraiser Adjustments

October 24, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: Can an Attorney Really Force Me to Testify?
  • How to Defend Adjustments in Appraisal Reports By Jo Traut
  • Monumental Hollywood Hills Megamansion That Took 10 Years To Complete Is Listed for $125 Million
  • West Los Angeles Community College Launches More Accessible Home Appraiser Training Program
  • Flooded With Change: Appraisers Tackle a Dynamic URAR and UAD 3.6 by Isaac Peck
  • Mortgage Rates Won’t Fall Below 6% Anytime Soon, Top Economist Says in Grim Forecast
  • Mortgage applications decreased 0.3 percent from one week earlier

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Posted in: adjustments, new appraisers, trainees, UAD 3.6

Bias in Appraisals. What Does It Mean?

Newz: Tariffs Effects on Home Building,
The Cupola and Its Cooling Comeback

October 17, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: Unreasonable Subpoena Request
  • California home built around giant boulder lists for $2 million
  • What’s That Box on the Roof? The Cupola and Its Cooling Comeback
  • Trump’s Tariffs on Lumber and Cabinetry Kick In, Hitting Homebuilding and Renovation
  • The Appraiser’s Guide to Evaluating Home Value Before You Buy
  • Mortgage applications decreased 1.8 percent from one week earlier

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What does “bias” in appraisal really mean?

Hal Humphreys

and Peter Christensen Video

Excerpts: What constitutes “bias” in appraisal isn’t always what you expect, according to an attorney who handles cases involving appraisers.

Now let’s zoom in on bias. This topic does NOT inspire feelings of neutrality in the appraisal community. That non-neutrality comes out (a bit explosively) in comments threads and appraiser forums, and sometimes even in the classroom. I’ve sat in on several of Peter Christensen’s in-person classes on bias and fair housing law, and invariably somebody in class pushes back. Sometimes the air gets pretty hot and hostile. But Peter always handles the pushback with calm and aplomb. He hears folks out, responds respectfully, and steers the conversation back to his thesis — that bias exists, and it can take forms that we don’t necessarily expect.

In a brief interview I did with him (see the video below), he tells a story about a case he handled, in which an appraiser’s report was found to exhibit bias to a homeowner whose political views he loathed. Peter tells this story in his class, and it always surprises people, because they’ve seen this divide in their own lives and can imagine something like this actually happening.

I thought I knew what bias looked like, but I’ve begun to realize that it can creep in when we’re least expecting it. —Hal Humphreys

To read more and watch the video, Click Here

My comment: Interesting analysis. Very good video. Worth watching the video and reading the text.

Read more!!

Posted in: appraisal, appraisal business, real estate market

Condo Prices, up/down/?? for Appraisals

Newz: NAR Calls Out Unregulated Middlemen (AMCs), Modular Construction?

October 10, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: Dealing with Unhappy Buyers as an Appraiser
  • Condo prices are obviously dropping, By Ryan Lundquist
  • Foreclosure Fixer-Uppers Ready for Their Next Chapter: 5 Abandoned Homes Offering a Bargain Deal to Buyers
  • The Modular Construction Revolution That Hasn’t Happened (Yet)

By Ivan Rupnik

  • NAR Calls Out Unregulated Middlemen: A Wake-Up Call for FHFA
  • When Appraisers Rally: Korea Sends the U.S. a Wake-Up Call
  • MBA Mortgage applications decreased 4.7 percent from one week earlier,

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Condo prices are obviously dropping

By Ryan Lundquist

Excerpts: So many price graphs right now look pretty flat, but this condo scatter graph shows definitive declines, right? This is stunning to see, but it’s also not a shocker since the condo market has been hit harder over the past couple of years. Keep in mind I’m showing the entire county, and not every single subdivision will have the exact trend.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH CONDOS?

Buyers have been turned off lately with condos, and so much of it has to do with HOA fees rising and affecting purchasing power (see paragraph below). There can also be issues with obtaining financing. Moreover, SB326 is a new balcony law in California in 2025, and that’s also something we want to keep watching. Yet, the declines began before 2025, so don’t blame SB326 alone.

LOSING PURCHASING POWER IS A BIG PROBLEM – SEE GRAPHIC BELOW

Check out the huge difference in purchasing power between the following two properties. The monthly payment is the same for a $350K condo with a $600 monthly HOA fee and a $450K detached home without an HOA fee. While there is some advantage in having the HOA cover exterior maintenance or even having a gym on site, buyers are looking at the math, and the higher fee has been a roadblock for condos.

SUPPLY HAS GROWN FASTER WITH CONDOS

Condo supply has been growing at a faster pace all year than the detached market in Sacramento County. This is a good reminder that not all parts of the market are experiencing the same trend (key point). No wonder why prices have gone down at a quicker rate for condos, right?

To read more, Click Here

My comments: What’s happening in your market??

Over my 40 years appraising in my local market, condo markets are almost always different than the market for detached homes.

Many condos in my city are conversions of apartments built prior to 1970. Today, there are new condos are being built here and all over the Bay Area due to very high land prices. Across the street from my office are many 3-5 story new condos with a few attached townhomes. They are sorta boring and look the same. A marina is being converted to residential mostly. I had my business there for over 30 years and had to move as my office building was destroyed in the first year of Covid.

Read more!!

Posted in: AMCs, appraisal how to, real estate market

Why AI Can’t Replace Appraisers

Newz: Why AI Can’t Replace Appraisers,
Value: Absolute or Relative?

October 3, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: Weather Impact
  • Five Reasons AI Cannot Replace Real Estate Appraisers, By Timothy Andersen
  • Malibu (CA) Waterfront Home for $110,000,000
  • How Bureaucratic Overreach Turned Real Estate Appraisers into Scapegoats
  • September 2025 Housing Market Updates for Appraisers
  • Value: Relatively Absolute or Absolutely Relative?, By Brent Bowen
  • Mortgage applications decreased 12.7 percent from one week earlier

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Five Reasons AI Cannot Replace Real Estate Appraisers

by Timothy Andersen

Excerpts:

QUESTION: When I got involved in real estate appraisal, nobody ever told me about AI, UAD 3.6, AVMs, and all the changes that would take place. I can’t keep up with these changes and the changes I will have to make to the way I appraise and report those appraisals. Please tell me there is some good news out there about the way I have chosen to make a living! Is there any such news?

RESPONSE: Traditionally, when there were questions of real property value, the party with the questions called a real property appraiser to answer them. Real estate appraisers are professionals who estimate the value of properties like homes or land. They are trained, licensed experts who visit properties, study local markets, and follow ethical rules to make fair valuations. Lately, artificial intelligence (AI) and computer models called Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) are helping estimate property values, thus possibly decreasing the demand for real estate appraisers.

From your question, you are asking if these innovations in AI are going to take your job. In all candor, AI is going to take some appraisal jobs. But the good news is that, with some upgrading on your part, that should not be a worry.

Reason 1

One reason you’ll get all the credit (or blame) is that humans exercise judgment, follow ethics, and accept responsibility. Algorithms cannot execute these since, to some extent, judgment, responsibility, etc. have an emotional component to them, rather than purely logic or reason. Remember, AI is a tool to help you. In so many ways it cannot replace you (nor was that its design).

Reason 2

One reason you’ll get all the credit (or blame) is that humans exercise judgment, follow ethics, and accept responsibility. Algorithms cannot execute these…

Reason 3

One reason it cannot replace you is simply because AI (i.e., AVMs) struggles with unique or complex houses, especially if those are rural properties…

Conclusion

At this point in the response, you rightly ask, “What does any of this have to do with me!?” That answer is essentially up to you….

To read more, Click Here

My comments: What AI means for your appraisals (and many jobs) can be scary. This article is understandable and comprehensive. Worth reading the details.

Read more!!

Posted in: AI, appraisal business, UAD 3.6

Q3 2025 Fannie Mae Appraiser Update

Q3 2025 Fannie Mae Appraiser Update, When Sales are not Comps

September 26, 2025

What’s in This Newsletter (In Order, Scroll Down)

  • LIA AD: When a Property Owner Wants to Do the Appraiser’s Job
  • Q3 2025 Fannie Mae Appraiser Update
  • 14 Mile Island House: $10.8 Million Historical Estate on a Private Island in New York Is Listed for Sale for the First Time in 60 Years
  • It’s the Right Time By Jeff Bradford, Founder and CEO of Bradford Technologies
  • Sales Don’t Always Become Comps By Ryan Lundquist
  • Is Commercial Property Appraisal Right for You?
  • Mortgage applications increased 0.6 percent from one week earlier
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  • Humor for Appraisers

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Q3 2025 Fannie Mae Appraiser Update

Excerpts: In this edition, we share information and resources to help you navigate recently announced changes.

Perhaps the most significant appraisal policy change in recent memory is the launch of the new Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6. In this edition we continue to unpack UAD 3.6 changes with the Update Report and the Completion Report.

To help with UAD 3.6 implementation, we have created a tool for appraisers to check their reports for UAD 3.6 compliance.

We also review recent Selling Guide changes related to reconsideration of value (ROV). Speaking of the Selling Guide, we provide some tips on how to make the most of this important resource for appraisers and we highlight changes to our ANSI fact sheet.

Topic LIst

  • Restricted Appraisal Update and Completion Reports
  • Comp driveby not required for UAD 3.6
  • UAD 3.6 compliance checker
  • Reconsideration of Value update
  • Stay up to date on Selling Guide changes

My comments: No more driving comps is a big change and is somewhat controversial for appraisers. Will lenders who don’t require UAD 3.6 drop the comp inspection requirement?

To read more, Click Here

Read more!!

Posted in: appraisal business, Fannie, UAD 3.6