Appraisal Upgrade Gamechanger

The Brief

• The overhaul of the appraisal system used to provide mortgages for homes is being hailed as an appraisal upgrade gamechanger.

• The upgrade provides the most dynamic technological changes in a generation.

• Appraisals must be submitted with the new forms by November 2026 in order to be sold to the nation’s two largest mortgage lenders.

A major overhaul of appraisals on homes and other residential property will be implemented in September in a sweeping effort that appraisers are already hailing as an appraisal upgrade gamechanger for the industry.

The change represents a full rethinking of how appraisal information is structured, reviewed, and relied upon. The shift is designed to support a modern lending environment with more consistent, verifiable, and granular property data, according to Fannie Mae.

Appraiser Daniel Yoder says the change will be major for appraisers. “The most fundamental shift to understand is that we’re moving away from a world of static, numbered forms to a dynamic, data-driven reporting system,” Yoder reports on his website.

“The new URAR is a single, flexible report. Instead of a lender ordering a “1004” for a single-family home or a “1073” for a condo, they will now provide a set of key data points about the property. These data points will define the scope of the assignment and the structure of the report.”

The tools appraisers have used for years are being replaced with a new system that demands more precision and gives appraisers the ability to provide greater analytical value. The upgrade provides the most dynamic technological changes in a generation in the lending industry.

The appraisal upgrade will be phased in gradually starting next month as the Uniform Appraisal Dataset is re-designed to make appraisals easier to understand for consumers, lenders, real estate agents and brokers. The new appraisals are structured to replace long-standing forms and improve accuracy and consistency in conforming government backed transactions.

Appraisers have been criticized for years for failing to provide a clear understanding in their appraisals of many details on property they have appraised.

The majority of real estate loans are sold to investors through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which are mandating the gamechanger for the industry. The new form (UAD 3.6) is designed to make property details easier to interpret through a standardized, data-driven structure.

The appraisal upgrade game changer will move away from rigid, decades-old appraisal forms to a dynamic structure, adjusting to property being appraised.

UAD 3.6 standardizes data entry, displays more relevant sections for each property type, and integrates photos, quality and condition ratings, among other key details directly into the report for consumers to understand more easily. The changes will be introduced gradually over the next year to year and a half.

The forms have been re-designed to make them easier to read and interpret for appraisers, lenders, and consumers, reducing the need for lengthy narrative explanations.

Lenders approved to participate in the initial launch of the program can submit appraisal reports in the new format beginning Sept. 8. Lenders not participating in the initial phase will continue to use the older GSE appraisal forms (UAD 2.6).

All new appraisals must be submitted on the new forms by Nov. 2, 2026 in order for lenders to sell their mortgages to Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, the nation’s two largest insurers of home mortgages.