Blog

Newz: Apps and Digital Tools for Appraisers,
AMCs and Value Pressure,
Deleted MLS Photos

September 11, 2026

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

• LIA AD: Vacant Land: Make Sure You are Appraising the Right Property
• Essential Mobile Apps and Digital Tools for Appraisers in 2026
• From Postwar Housing Solution to ‘Brady Bunch’ Fame—Is the Split-Level Home Ready for a Comeback?
• Readiness Extends Beyond the Appraiser’s Report By Laurie Egan
• MY AD: Bracketing Has No Empirical Support and Encourages Bias By Tim Andersen, MAI
• Valutrust Turns the ROV Into a Pressure Tool
• A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words – Until it is Deleted
• My UAD 3.6 News – Nov. 2??, GSEs change to residential highest and best use and reporting for UAD 3.6
• MBA Stats: Mortgage applications decreased 2.7 percent from one week earlier

Essential Mobile Apps and Digital Tools for Appraisers in 2026

Excerpts: The appraisal profession is becoming increasingly digital. Mobile devices, cloud-based platforms, workflow automation, and data-driven reporting tools are changing how you collect information, analyze markets, and communicate results.

As you prepare for industry changes such as UAD 3.6 and the redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR), now is a great time to evaluate the tools you use every day.

While no single app will solve every challenge, the right combination of mobile and desktop tools can help you improve productivity, stay organized, and create a more efficient workflow.

The categories below highlight several types of digital tools and apps to consider as you build a technology stack that supports your appraisal business into the future.

Jump to a Section

• More Appraisal Technology Resources
• Property Inspection and Data Collection Tools
• Mapping, GIS, and Location Research Tools
• Sketching and Measurement Tools
• Productivity and Organization Tools
• Communication and Collaboration Tools
• AI and Emerging Technology Tools
• Choosing the Right Technology Stack
• Preparing for the Future of Appraisal

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Comprehensive and worth reading the details.

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From Postwar Housing Solution to ‘Brady Bunch’ Fame—Is the Split-Level Home Ready for a Comeback?

Excerpts:

Those who grew up in a suburban neighborhood most likely have childhood memories where a split-level house serves as the backdrop.

Whether your family lived in one, you regularly visited a friend’s, or you simply watched enough episodes of “The Brady Bunch” to develop a positive association with half-staircases and sunken living rooms, this architectural choice is still a mainstay in many older, residential areas.

While this style of home may seem retro to some, modern life can also draw renewed interest in split-levels.

“Buyers want defined, separate spaces for remote work and school,” says Realtor.com® senior economist Hannah Jones.

“Their half-flight design naturally creates that separation, and their generally older age means they may be located in established, family-friendly neighborhoods and could be at a relative discount to newer builds.”

What are the most distinctive features of a split-level home?

While there are a few types of split-level homes, the most distinctive feature of this architectural style is a layout with at least three levels connected by short flights of stairs—rather than two or more standard stories with a full flight of stairs in between.

The number of levels—as well as the way in which they are visible from the outside—can vary.

Three or four levels creates a standard split-level, while five or six stories would be considered a stacked split-level.

In a side-split home, the levels can be seen from the front.

In a back-split home, the levels are obvious only when viewing from the side of the property. The front appears to be a single story, while the back reveals the additional levels.

When was the first split-level home designed?

Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1923 Storer Mansion is often regarded as the first split-level American home. Wright’s 1908 Isabel Roberts house is also sometimes considered to be the first.

The Storer Mansion was designed with half-staircases and staggered stories to work around the uneven plot of land it was built on.

The style gained traction during the post-World War II housing boom of the 1950s and 1970s, serving as a cost-efficient way to offer more space and build on lots that might otherwise need a costly excavation.

How have split-level homes changed over the years?

After soaring in popularity, split-level homes lost appeal in the 1970s and 1980s, when homeowners began to opt for sprawling open-concept homes.

Popular renovations of split-level homes may include kitchen remodels to make the space feel larger and more connected to other areas in the home, or additions to the upper story to create a larger primary suite.

To read more and see many photos, Click Here

My comments: Very interesting with many photos, especially the history! They are not common in my area, but are common in many other locations.

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Bracketing Has No Empirical Support and Encourages Bias

By Timothy C. Andersen, MAI

In the September, 2026 issue of Appraisal Today

Excerpts: The contemporary lender/AMC demand that residential appraisal reports include one comparable sale above and one below the contract price (colloquially termed “price bracketing”) presents itself as a quality-control protocol.

This essay argues that such a mandate lacks verifiable validation, conflicts

with foundational principles of valuation theory, and introduces ethical distortions into the appraisal process.

Drawing on appraisal theory (Graaskamp, Ratcliff, and The Appraisal of

Real Estate), federal agency guidance, and philosophical frameworks from

Popper, Kant, and Kuhn, the analysis demonstrates that price bracketing functions less as a scientific safeguard than as a ritualized administrative heuristic (rule of thumb).

While bracketing of physical characteristics can reduce inferential

extrapolation, contract-price bracketing incentivizes confirmatory selection bias and undermines the probabilistic nature of market value.

The essay concludes that rigid bracketing requirements risk substituting

bureaucratic formalism for disciplined professional judgment, thereby eroding the epistemic credibility of residential appraisal.

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If you are a paid subscriber and did not receive the

September, 2026 issue emailed on

Tuesday, 2026 please email info@appraisaltoday.com, and we will send lt to you. You can also hit the reply button. Be sure to include a comment requesting it. Or, call 510-865-8041

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UAD 3.6: Readiness Extends Beyond the Appraiser’s Report

By Laurie Egan

Much of the industry’s preparation for UAD 3.6 has understandably focused on the appraisal report itself. After all, appraisers need to learn a fundamentally different reporting format. Software providers need to give appraisers reliable tools for creating and transmitting reports in the new UAD 3.6 format. AMCs and lenders need to understand new data requirements and review processes.

All of that is necessary.

But there is another readiness issue receiving far less attention: Can all of the systems involved in an appraisal transaction successfully talk to one another?

For most assignments, an appraisal report does not simply travel from an appraiser to a lender. It passes through multiple independent technology platforms, each of which must correctly receive, interpret, process and transmit the data. Consider a relatively straightforward traditional appraisal ordered directly through an AMC:

Lender LOS → AMC system → Appraiser → AMC system → UCDP → Lender LOS

That represents six system-to-system handoffs.

Add an intermediary ordering platform between the lender and AMC, and the same traditional assignment may involve eight or more handoffs. Depending on the workflow, hybrid assignments can mean 12 or more system-to-system handoffs for a single appraisal transaction.

It is not enough to know that an appraiser can successfully complete a UAD 3.6 report. It is not enough to know that an individual appraisal software platform can successfully create and transmit the required UAD 3.6 data package. And it is not enough to know that UCDP can accept one.

We need confidence that an actual assignment can travel successfully through the complete technology chain — from the lender placing the order, through every platform and service provider involved in delivering the appraisal, through UCDP and, ultimately, back into the lender’s system.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: Worth reading. I had never seen a comprehensive analysis of this “big picture” topic for appraisers. Like most appraisers, I have been focusing on completing UAD 3.6 appraisals….

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If you are a paid subscriber and did not receive the

September, 2026 issue emailed on

Tuesday, September 2, 2026 please email info@appraisaltoday.com, and we will send lt to you. You can also hit the reply button. Be sure to include a comment requesting it. Or, call 510-865-8041

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Valutrust Turns the ROV Into a Pressure Tool

AMC Value Pressure

Excerpts: Valutrust demonstrated with stunning clarity that the real threat to independence is not the lender at all, but the AMC that believes it can steer value without consequence.

Every so often a social media post surfaces that exposes the AMC problem with such clarity that it almost reads like satire. One recent social media post described an exchange with a Valutrust staff appraiser that perfectly illustrates how far some AMCs have drifted from anything resembling appraiser independence. The staff appraiser opened with the classic AMC dominance line. I have been appraising longer than you have been alive. It is the kind of statement people use when they want authority without earning it, and it reveals more about their insecurity than their experience.

The conversation continued with a request to throw them a bone, AMC shorthand for please abandon your analysis and give us the number that keeps the lender quiet. The staff appraiser even admitted he was just trying to not get in trouble, which is remarkable considering the trouble he feared was the consequence of not influencing an appraiser aggressively enough. When someone is comfortable saying that out loud, it becomes painfully clear that the culture inside certain AMCs is not simply misguided but fundamentally hostile to independence.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: I thought that AMCs were set up to keep appraisers from being pressured on value by mortgage brokers!!

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A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words—Until It’s Deleted

An Appraiser’s Perspective on Historical MLS Photos

By : Kimberly Evans, Certified Residential Appraiser

Excerpts: Recently, while researching comparable sales for an appraisal assignment using my local MLS, I ran into a problem that has become increasingly common.

The listing photos had been deleted.

Not on an older sale from years ago.

On a recent sale.

In fact, one of the properties had been an active listing just two weeks earlier, complete with interior photos. Two days before I began my new assignment, I could still view the property exactly as it had been marketed to buyers.

When I returned to use it as a comparable sale, the photos were gone.

And this wasn’t a one-time occurrence. At this point, I have encountered the same issue more than twenty times.

As I continued discussing this issue with local agents, I learned something encouraging.

Many sellers have legitimate privacy concerns about interior photographs continuing to appear on consumer-facing websites after a transaction closes. My local MLS already offered a Private photo setting that allowed those images to remain available within the MLS without continuing to display them publicly.

Then, after I wrote this article in June, my local MLS announced a change that addresses exactly this problem.

Beginning July 29, all photos except the primary photo will automatically be marked Private when a listing moves to an off-market status, including Pending, Closed, Sold Off MLS, Withdrawn/Cancelled, Duplicate Withdrawn, and Expired.

To read more, Click Here

My comments: When I started my business in 1986, all the MLSs were paper documents. I still have them in my storage area. Most of my work has been estate and trust appraisals. I always go back in the past. For over 30 years or more. Almost all MLSs are online now. Plus, websites such as Zillow often keep records of listings and sales.

A long time ago I spoke with a local appraiser who told me he used old newspaper articles for information on sales and the local market for an effective date way in the past. He specialized in appraising unusual properties!

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My UAD 3.6 News – November 2 deadline? Fannie Highest and Best Use Changes for UAD 3.6

My opinion: Nov. 2 will not be changed. The GSEs keep saying that.

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What if rates dropped to 4% tomorrow? Appraisers would learn to do UAD 3.6 reports ASAP. They would be overwhelmed with orders!

Appraisers are not the problem. We can learn to produce UAD 3.6 reports in a few weeks or even a few days.

In my opinion, some lenders are having problems getting ready. For example, the format for the UAD 3.6 appraisals are very different from legacy forms.

Also, they have to completely change how they do reviews, managing the different types of valuations done by GSEs, etc. It is a major change for them.

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FNMA change to residential highest and best use and reporting

By Dave Towne

Appraisers…

For those of you doing (or will do) the New URAR/UAD 3.6 mortgage lending reports from now into the future, you need to read and understand this new policy change from Fannie Mae. Because this new UAD report process also applies to Freddie Mac, my presumption is they will issue a policy statement of their own with similar wording.

For the time being, here is the FNMA new policy, issued on Sept. 2, 2026:

Highest and best use requirements for Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6

This policy updates the highest and best use requirements for appraisal reports completed using Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6.

These changes apply only to UAD 3.6 appraisal assignments to support the new Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) reporting requirements and do not apply to appraisal reports completed using legacy appraisal report forms.

We updated our policy to:

• require the property’s highest and best use, as improved or as proposed, to be a residential use, rather than requiring it to be the property’s present use;

• define present use, residential use, and subordinate use in the context of highest and best use;

• require the property to be a primarily residential one- to four-unit property, with any non-residential use subordinate to the residential use, replacing the previous “residential in nature” guidance; and

• establish the eligibility criteria and reporting requirements for one- to four-unit residential properties when the present use does not satisfy one or more of the highest and best use tests.

The UAD 3.6 Policy Supplement has been updated to reflect these changes.

Effective: This policy change is effective immediately for appraisal reports completed using UAD 3.6.

Remember, to be USPAP compliant, you can’t “just check the box” on the New URAR/UAD 3.6 data base input field (or on the Legacy forms either) to indicate ‘present use,’ and then move on. You must add a written statement in that site section comment input field explaining why you decided that is the accurate use of the property. Craft your statement to comply with the above policy.

Also remember this: if you decide the property’s H&BU is not Residential use, you must check the box “No.” In most cases, when you do that, the need to complete a full appraisal report ends at that point because the lender cannot proceed with a residential mortgage loan. Your statement needs to define what the actual use is if not Residential. Stop working on the report and contact your client to fully explain the current situation. Let them determine how to proceed.

To read the original Fannie Mae Selling Guide Update announcement SEL2026-08, Click Here

Many thanks (again) to Dave Towne for sending this in his regular emails. I have been subscribing to them for many years.

To subscribe, send an email to Dave at dtowne@fidalgo.net

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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 lower in 2027.

Mortgage applications decreased 2.7 percent from one week earlier

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 9, 2026) — Mortgage applications decreased 2.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 4, 2026.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 6 percent from the previous week and was 25 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week and was 4 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage rates moved higher last week, driven by ongoing investor concerns over inflation and the federal budget deficit. The 30-year fixed rate increased to 6.85 percent, the highest since June 2025 and 36 basis points higher than a year ago,” said Joel Kan, CMB, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Refinance applications remain significantly impacted by these higher rates, falling to the slowest weekly pace since May 2025. Purchase applications overall were little changed from last week, but more borrowers have shifted to using ARM loans, with the ARM share of applications at 8.5 percent, the highest share since June. Higher mortgage rates continue to weigh on prospective homebuyers looking to act, even as housing inventory has increased in many markets.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 40.9 percent of total applications from 41.8 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 8.5 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 17.2 percent from 15.9 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 12.0 percent from 13.6 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5 percent from the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($832,750 or less) increased to 6.85 percent from 6.79 percent, with points increasing to 0.67 from 0.65 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $832,750) decreased to 6.74 percent from 6.76 percent, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.53 percent from 6.49 percent, with points increasing to 0.86 from 0.82 (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 6.17 percent from 6.14 percent, with points increasing to 0.93 from 0.86 (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 5.82 percent from 5.94 percent, with points increasing to 0.84 from 0.66 (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