New Reporting System Advances NAHB's Push for Better Appraisals

A new appraisal standard introduced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Nov. 2 advances NAHB’s longstanding effort to ensure appraisals fully reflect new construction.

The Uniform Appraisal Dataset 3.6 is one of the biggest changes to residential appraisal reporting in more than a decade, with implications for home builders, lenders and home builders associations nationwide. It will help ensure appraisals identify and consider all new-home features, including energy efficiency and green building features.

What It Means for New Homes

An appraisal estimates a home’s market value and plays a key role in securing a mortgage. The old system used fixed forms, often leaving extra details in written comments. The new report adapts to each property and presents information more consistently, giving appraisers and lenders a clearer picture of the home — not guaranteeing a higher value.

Builders and buyers could benefit from:

• A more complete picture of new homes. The new system captures details previously missed or reported inconsistently, including energy-efficient and green features.
• Easier comparisons. Standardized information will help appraisers compare new homes with similar properties to estimate market value.
• Fewer corrections and delays. Clearer information could make appraisals more consistent and reduce requests for revisions or explanations.

NAHB’s Work to Improve Appraisals

NAHB has worked for years with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other industry stakeholders to improve new-home appraisal reporting. A key priority is ensuring energy-efficient and green features are recognized and considered — not buried in written comments.

These efforts build on NAHB’s longstanding calls to:

• Expand appraisal data standards to cover new construction, energy efficiency and green building;
• Improve the quality and availability of new-construction data; and
• Strengthen appraiser education and experience requirements so appraisals properly account for lot values, building costs and newer construction methods

As the industry adapts, NAHB will continue collaborating with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, appraiser organizations and federal agencies to make sure builders’ voices are heard. Our goal is accurate new-home appraisals that promote housing affordability and a dependable housing market.