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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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
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$10.8 Million Historical Estate on a Private Island in New York Is Listed for Sale for the First Time in 60 Years
Excerpts: 7 bedrooms, 4 baths, 6,094 sq.ft., 3.3 acres, Built in 1905
From its 19th-century hotel days to its 20th-century preservation, the legendary 14 Mile Island estate sits on 3-plus acres of privacy just off Bolton Landing, NY. It features not only sweeping views of the Adirondacks, but also more than a century of history.
The estate’s 14 Mile Island name dates to the 18th century, when British soldiers mistakenly thought they were 14 miles from the lake’s southern end. (In reality, it was 11 miles.) In 1857, the state of New York sold the island, along with five others, to a man named William Smith. Over the years, it became a hotel, a steamship excursion stop, and finally, in 1905, a private residence.
Today, the property remains a testament to local craftsmanship and preservation. The main residence showcases custom post-and-beam construction, a two-story stone fireplace, and a curved 3,000-square-foot southern porch framed by 17 pillars crafted from Shelving Rock stone.
To read more, Click Here
To read the listing with 37 photos and a video tour, Click Here
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It’s the Right Time
By Jeff Bradford, Founder and CEO of Bradford Technologies
Excerpts: What is the right time? What makes the right time different from the “wrong” time. Einstein says time is relative. That it depends on who is moving and who is standing still. That’s actually quite profound when you think about it. Are you moving or are you standing still? Time is different for everyone.
So often we hear someone say “that company was just too early or they were too late to market”. There must be a right time, but what is it. How can you tell it’s the right time? Do the stars line up for us? We wish it was that simple.
Today, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are retiring their appraisal forms and asking appraisers to produce reports using a new dynamic reporting format. This seems like we are entering an interesting time. Is it the “right” time? If it’s the right time, what is it the right time for?
I think this statement is so very true today. The question for everyone is, do we want the future to be like the past or do we want the future to be different. Freddie and Fannie have given us the opportunity to chart a new path for appraisers. Make no mistake, this is the right time to imagine what a better future would look like.
To read more, Click Here
My comments: Jeff is definitely a visionary. His office is about 20 miles from where I live. I have heard him speak many times over the years about where appraisals are going, especially today about UAD 3.6
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The Power To Define Appraisal Rules For U.S. Real Estate Belongs To TAF (The Appraisal Foundation). It’s Desperate Not To Lose It
In the September 2025 issue of Appraisal Today
Excerpts: Tucked away in a nondescript office building in downtown Washington, D.C., is a 13-person nonprofit that writes the rules for how trillions of dollars of residential and commercial real estate is valued in America.
The Appraisal Foundation (TAF), the governing body for appraisers across
the U.S., has overseen the way property values are determined for more than 30 years. But in recent years it has come under heightened scrutiny about its
influence and effectiveness, both from within the ranks of the appraisal industry and among the federal officials who monitor it.
Since 2020, TAF has been the subject of a federal fair housing probe,
doubled its financial assets and sought to exert more control over – and extract more revenue from – appraisal certification materials, a Bisnow investigation found.
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Sales don’t always become comps
By Ryan Lundquist
Excerpts: Imagine a new sale in the neighborhood. This property sells above all others, and now it’s a comp, right? Well, not necessarily. I had a neighbor ask me about this after a sale was reported to have closed surprisingly high, and I had a related conversation with someone alleging investor fraud from inflated comps.
WHAT IF I SOLD MY HOUSE FOR ONE DOLLAR?
Imagine if I sold my house for $1. Does that mean the rest of the market will bend toward my sale? Nope. The same holds true if I sold my house for 25% over market value. This “lone ranger” sale doesn’t become the new comp for the rest of the neighborhood. The big truth here is just because someone overpaid or underpaid doesn’t mean it reflects the market.
On a related note, I talked with someone recently about investment fund activity. The alleged scenario was that a big investor purchased an entire neighborhood at a discount, and then sold three homes at an inflated level to an LLC that was owned by the same investor. The idea is these new higher “comps” will now be used as the value basis for other properties. Look, I get the idea, but there are some issues here:
THE BIG TAKEAWAY: WE NEED TO WEIGH THE COMPS
Here’s the big takeaway. Is the new sale a comp? Does the property reflect what actual buyers are willing to pay? Was the price too high, too low, or just about right? In real estate, we have to weigh the comps by asking questions like this. We don’t just arbitrarily accept a closed sale as gospel. I find many sellers believe this to be true when a sale closes really high, but then they don’t believe it when something closes too low. So, maybe this is more about wishful thinking. Ultimately, if it looks like it closed too high or low, then we might not use the sale at all, or maybe we won’t give it much weight in our final opinion of value (rightly so).
To read more, Click Here
My comments: Very good analysis on this topic, including comments on Zillow. Worth reading the full post for more ideas.
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Is Commercial Property Appraisal Right for You?
Excerpts: Commercial real estate appraisal is the process of determining the value of properties that generate or support economic activity, including offices, retail, multifamily housing, industrial facilities, land for development, and specialized assets such as hospitality, healthcare, and mixed-use projects, as well as many other property types. Unlike residential appraisals, which focus primarily on single-family homes or small multi-family dwellings, commercial assignments require a deeper understanding of financial performance and market dynamics.
Development and Reporting
In practice, an appraiser must weigh multiple factors: the property’s physical condition, its location and market positioning, prevailing economic trends, current and projected rental income, and sales of comparable properties. By bringing all these considerations together, appraisers provide a balanced and evidence-based opinion of value, delivered to the client in the form of an appraisal report. These reports provide essential guidance to property owners, buyers, sellers, investors, and financial institutions.
Becoming a Certified General Appraiser opens the door to a wide variety of job opportunities and specializations. People choose to work in commercial vs. residential property appraisal for the following reasons:
- Higher income
- Challenging work
- Wider range of property types
- More opportunities for diversification and specialization
- Enhanced job security
To read more, Click Here
My comments: I have been doing commercial appraisals for over 40 years. You need to have good basic math skills and are able use Excel for financial analysis. Commercial is all about income and expenses. You will be writing narrative reports. Since a college degree is required, you should have some experience in writing longer documents.
Commercial is an excellent diversification opportunity for your business. Fees are much higher than residential.
For myself, often residential appraisals are interesting because of available data and different motivations of I buyers and sellers. I have appraised apartment appraisals from 2 units to 200 units. For me, larger apartments are easier than 2-4 units.
I like doing both residential and commercial appraisals. This is not unusual for fee appraisers who started in residential.
There are many different types of non-residential properties.
For residential appraises there are only single family and 2-4 units.
When I started my appraisal business I accepted most commercial assignments. Over time I found out what types of properties I preferred. Most of my lender appraisals were for the local bank, until they were purchased by a larger bank. So I switched to all non-lender commercial appraisals.
No AMCs (only a few are trying). No hassles.
When I started appraising in the 1970s, most appraisers started in residential and then some were asked to move to commercial, for both lender and some independent appraiser businesses.
Today, it is much more difficult to switch. With licensing lenders gave up their large appraisal staffs. New appraisers started in residential or commercial and seldom switched. Moving from res to commercial is more difficult now after licensing requirements.
I have written in my monthly newsletter about becoming a commercial appraiser many times. I encourage residential appraisers to try commercial and tell them how to get started.
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HOW TO USE THE NUMBERS BELOW. Appraisals are ordered after the loan application. These numbers tell you the future for the next few weeks. For more information on how they are compiled, Click Here.
Note: I publish a graph of this data every month in my paid monthly newsletter, Appraisal Today. For more information or get a FREE sample go to www.appraisaltoday.com/order Or call 510-865-8041, MTW, 7 AM to noon, Pacific time.
My comments: Rates are going up and down. We are all waiting for rates to drop in 2025.
Mortgage applications increased 0.6 percent from one week earlier
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 24, 2025) — Mortgage applications increased 0.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 19, 2025.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 0.1 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 1 percent from the previous week and was 42 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 18 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage rates declined further last week, with the 30-year fixed rate falling to its lowest level since last September to 6.34 percent. Interest rates generally have moved up following the FOMC meeting last week but remain in a range that should continue to lead to increased refinance activity. Refinance volume increased further last week and is now 80 percent higher than four weeks ago, accounting for more than 60 percent of all application activity,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and Chief Economist. “The refinance boost last week was from government applications, with VA refinance volume up almost 15 percent. While homebuyer demand typically tends to decrease during the fall, purchase application activity remains relatively strong right now, running 18 percent ahead of last year’s pace.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 60.2 percent of total applications from 59.8 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 8.9 percent of total applications.
The FHA share of total applications decreased to 15.7 percent from 16.3 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 17.5 percent from 15.8 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.4 percent from 0.5 percent the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($806,500 or less) decreased to 6.34 percent from 6.39 percent, with points increasing to 0.57 from 0.54 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $806,500) decreased to 6.44 percent from 6.48 percent, with points decreasing to 0.34 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA remained unchanged at 6.14 percent, with points increasing to 0.74 from 0.68 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.70 percent from 5.63 percent, with points increasing to 0.69 from 0.58 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 5.53 percent from 5.65 percent, with points increasing to 0.49 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The survey covers U.S. closed-end residential mortgage applications originated through retail and consumer direct channels. The survey has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, thrifts, and credit unions. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.
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Ann O’Rourke, MAI, SRA, MBA
Appraiser and Publisher Appraisal Today
1826 Clement Ave. Suite 203 Alameda, CA 94501
Phone: 510-865-8041
Email: ann@appraisaltoday.com
Online: www.appraisaltoday.com
