Class Valuation Releases New Insights On Desktop And Digital Appraisals

Class Valuation, a national Appraisal Management Company, has released new statistics on the impact desktop and digital appraisals have made on the industry since new rules were released earlier this year.

On January 19, 2022, Fannie Mae announced that it will include a desktop appraisal option for eligible mortgage transactions. Freddie Mac followed suit and made its announcement on February 2. As of March 2022, purchase transactions for single-unit principal residences that meet the outlined requirements became eligible for this option.

Under the new rules, desktop appraisals may be applied to loans with up to 90 percent LTV, as long as they meet the other requirements. For the average lender, this means a significant percentage of loans they process could be impacted.

According to statistics gathered by Class Valuation, increasing desktop and digital appraisals have impacted the way loans are processed. For example, with more than 10,000 digital appraisals completed by Class Valuation over the last year, first-pass revisions have fallen by 50 percent. Second-pass revisions are down 70 percent.

“With digital appraisals, everyone is looking at the same, comprehensive data set. And any disputes are easier to resolve because everyone has the exact same view of the property,” says Scot Rose, Chief Innovation Officer of Class Valuation.

Digital appraisals have also had an impact on loan efficiency. Transaction turn times are down by as much as 50 percent in some of the more challenging areas, demonstrating the benefits of using technology rather than appraiser legwork to complete valuations. As John Dingeman, Chief Appraiser of Class Valuation points out, “In traditional appraisals, appraisers would spend a significant amount of their time scheduling and driving to and from appointments. But with new technology, appraisers can spend 100 percent of their time leveraging their expertise and completing reports. It makes things much more efficient.”

Rose, agrees. “It’s exciting to see the industry adapting to newer technology, especially tools like 3D scanning that can create accurate floorplans and capture other details appraisers generally could not without visiting the home. When leveraging the right technology, today we can literally create a digital twin of a home, including a virtual tour inside and out, providing appraisers with absolutely everything they need to be confident in their report without ever having to drive to the property.”