The New Appraisal Report: What Changes November 2, 2026

Quick answer: On November 2, 2026, every appraisal delivered to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac has to use a new data standard called UAD 3.6 and a single dynamic report called the URAR. It retires 13 separate appraisal forms, including the 1004 that has been the standard single-family form for decades. It does not change how a home's value is determined. What changes is how much structured detail the report captures about your house.

What actually changes on November 2

Since January 26, 2026, appraisers have been allowed to submit either the old format, UAD 2.6, or the new one. On November 2, 2026 that choice ends and UAD 3.6 becomes the only accepted format for new appraisals. Work already in the pipeline under the old standard keeps moving; Freddie Mac's timeline has the legacy pipeline fully cleared by May 3, 2027.

The deeper change is how the report gets built. The old system was form-driven: the appraiser picked the form that matched the property type and the scope of work, and the form dictated the fields. The new system is data-driven. In Freddie Mac's own words, the data that describes the subject property drives the appraisal report, not a form type or number.

The 13 forms it replaces

One dynamic report now covers everything these forms used to:

• 1004 / 70 — the standard single-family appraisal, plus its desktop and hybrid versions

• 1073 / 465 — individual condominium unit, plus desktop and hybrid versions

• 1075 / 466 — exterior-only condominium unit

• 2055 — exterior-only inspection, the classic drive-by appraisal

• 1025 / 72 — small residential income property, meaning two to four units

• 1004C / 70B — manufactured homes

• 2090 and 2095 — cooperative interest, full and exterior-only

• 1004D / 442 — appraisal update and completion report

If you have sold a house in the last twenty years, the 1004 is the form you saw. It is going away as a form. The work it described is not.

What is actually different inside the report

Four things matter to a homeowner:

• Condition is recorded component by component. The old report leaned on one overall condition rating plus a narrative paragraph. The new one carries structured, component-level data on condition and updates.

• Defined fields instead of free text. Property characteristics go into standardized fields with set options, so the same feature is described the same way on every report in the country.

• One report, four scopes. Traditional, hybrid, desktop and exterior-only assignments now come out of the same dynamic framework instead of separate forms.

• Specific commentary fields replace the catch-all addendum. An explanation gets attached to the thing it explains rather than buried at the back.

What this means if you are selling

The practical consequence is that deferred maintenance gets harder to average away. Under a single overall condition rating, a tired kitchen in an otherwise well-kept house could get absorbed into one word. Under component-level reporting, the kitchen is described as the kitchen.

That cuts both ways, and mostly in the seller's favor if the house has been maintained. Real improvements — a roof replaced four years ago, a new furnace, updated electrical — land in structured fields rather than depending on whether the appraiser wrote them into a paragraph. The sellers who lose ground are the ones who assumed nobody would look closely.

Two things worth doing before an appraiser walks through: put together a short written list of what has been replaced and when, with receipts where you have them, and handle the small visible defects that are cheap to fix and expensive to explain.

If you own a condo or a two-to-four family

Two of the retired forms matter specifically here. The 1073 was the condominium form and the 1025 was the small residential income form for two to four units. Both are folded into the new report.

For condo owners, this arrives alongside the paperwork the association already has to produce, so if you are selling a condo or townhouse it is one more reason to start the document gathering early rather than late. For owners of a Manchester two-family or a New Britain multifamily, the income approach and the rent roll still matter; what changes is the structure the appraiser reports them in.

Will it slow closings down?

Possibly, in the first few weeks. Any industry-wide format change means software updates, new workflows and a learning curve, and appraisal turn times are a common place for that friction to show up. If you have a closing scheduled in November or December and the timing is tight, it is a fair question to put to your lender early rather than discover it late.

By spring this will be unremarkable. The transition window is the part to plan around.

What it does not change

• It is not a new way of calculating value. Comparable sales, adjustments and market analysis work the way they did.

• It does not change appraisal waivers. Fannie Mae's value acceptance program is a separate thing, and this mandate does not alter who qualifies for one.

• It does not change who pays. The appraisal is still ordered by the lender and paid for by the borrower.

• It does not apply to a broker price opinion. A BPO is a licensed broker's opinion of value, not an appraisal, and it is not submitted under UAD.

The dates that matter

• January 26, 2026 — both formats accepted, the transition window opens

• November 2, 2026 — UAD 3.6 only, mandatory for new appraisals

• May 3, 2027 — the legacy pipeline is fully cleared

Frequently asked

Do I need to do anything as a seller? Nothing procedural. The change sits between the appraiser, the lender and the agencies. What is worth doing is preparing the house and documenting improvements, which was true before and matters a little more now.

Will my house appraise for lower under the new format? There is no reason it should. The valuation methodology has not changed. A house in genuinely poor condition may be described more precisely than it once was, which is a reporting change rather than a value change.

Does this affect a cash sale? No. If there is no loan going to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, there is no UAD submission.

What about FHA, VA or a portfolio loan? This particular mandate governs appraisals delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Other loan programs set their own requirements on their own timelines, so ask your lender how it applies to your specific loan.

Thinking about selling before the change?

If you are weighing a move in Connecticut, Massachusetts or Tampa Bay, the appraisal format is a detail, not a deadline — there is no advantage to rushing a listing to beat November 2. What does move the number is pricing and preparation. Start with a home value estimate, or read how the 1% listing fee works.

Zack DeCaro is a licensed real estate broker in Connecticut and Massachusetts and an agent in Rhode Island, New York and Florida, with more than 1,500 broker price opinions and valuations behind him. Call or text 860-209-3000.

Source: Freddie Mac, UAD and Forms Redesign FAQ and the joint Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac UAD redesign implementation timeline. This article is general information, not legal or lending advice.