What changed

On November 2, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made the new appraisal report mandatory. Every new appraisal on a conventional loan sold to them now runs on UAD 3.6, the Uniform Appraisal Dataset, and a redesigned report. NAHB calls it one of the biggest changes to appraisal reporting in more than a decade (November 3, 2026). One report replaces the old fixed forms. It has structured fields for what the old forms pushed into the comments. Energy and green features included. Lenders that missed the date can request a one-time exception. Those lenders keep filing the old UAD 2.6 report through May 19, 2027 (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, September 30, 2026). And since July 11, your buyer’s right to a reconsideration of value is federal law. That’s Section 704 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (NAHB executive summary, August 2026).

What it does to your job

The report now has a line for what you built

The old form had a comments box. The spray foam, the HERS score, the tankless water heater went in the comments. If the appraiser wrote them in at all. The new report has fields for them. NAHB’s November 3 post is careful here: a clearer picture of the home, “not guaranteeing a higher value.” Fair. A blank field still reads as zero.

That’s the opening. The appraiser fills in what’s in front of them. Hand them the MLS sheet and the contract. You get an MLS appraisal. Put a one-page feature sheet in the file at order. You get a report that reflects the house you built.

Action: Build a one-page feature sheet per plan this month. Every item above code minimum, with its cost. Energy and green features first. Hand it to the buyer’s lender at contract, not at appraisal order. It should be in the file before the appraiser is assigned.

The low appraisal has a rulebook now

Low appraisals used to end in an argument. Now there’s a process. It’s written down in two places. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide requires every lender to run a borrower-initiated reconsideration of value (B4-1.3-12, September 3, 2025). One request per appraisal. Up to five alternative comps, with data sources. An explanation of why they support a different value. The request has to land before closing. After closing, the right is gone (Fannie Mae Appraiser Update, June 2024). The ROAD to Housing Act then put the ROV into federal law for FHA, FHFA, USDA, and VA. No agency deadline yet for the final procedures (Section 704).

43% of builders cut prices in October. 65% used incentives (NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI, October 19, 2026). The comps an appraiser pulls this winter carry concessions. Some get adjusted out. Some don’t. Your last five closings, with the upgrades and concessions on each, are the five comps the rule allows.

Action: Keep a running comp file per plan or community: your last five closings, with price, concessions, upgrade list, and days to close. When an appraisal comes in short, the buyer has the file within 48 hours. The clock stops at closing.

Two forms are in circulation until May

Every lender on an exception is still filing the old report. Through February 28, 2027, that costs them nothing. From March 1 through May 19, 2027, it starts to cost. Their old-form loans lose representation and warranty relief for value at Fannie and Freddie (September 30 announcement). From your chair, that’s two appraisers on two forms in the same subdivision. And a lender that may switch forms mid-pipeline.

Action: Ask every buyer’s lender one question at contract: are you on UAD 3.6, or filing under the exception? Put the answer in the job file. Under the exception, your feature sheet goes in the comments box. Ask the loan officer to confirm the appraiser got it.

The Bottom Line

The new report can hold more about the house than the old one could. The law now gives your buyer one shot at fixing a bad number. Neither one helps a builder who shows up to the appraisal with a contract and a handshake. The builders who come out ahead will have two documents in the file before the appraiser is assigned. Every job. Without the owner having to remember.