Appraisal Process Changes November 2: Here's What Sellers Need to Know

By Rose Sklar, The Sklar Team | Coldwell Banker Global Luxury

If you're listing this fall or closing before the end of the year, there's an appraisal process change you should know about. Starting November 2, 2026, every new appraisal tied to a conventional loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac must be submitted in a new format. It's called the Uniform Appraisal Dataset 3.6. UAD 3.6 for short. One clarification first, because I've already heard this framed incorrectly. It's not a new law. It's not a rule that makes sellers produce an appraisal. It's a rebuild of how appraisers collect and report property data. What it changes is what happens inside your house on appraisal day. That's why you want to know about it before you're standing in your kitchen wondering why the appraiser is taking so many photos.

WHAT IS ACTUALLY CHANGING

For decades appraisers worked off fixed forms built around one property type, then wrote long narrative comments to explain everything the form couldn't hold. A waterfront estate and a two bedroom condo got squeezed into the same boxes. UAD 3.6 gets rid of that. The new report is dynamic. It expands and contracts based on what's being appraised, so the sections on a Windmill Ranch estate aren't the same as those for a townhouse. Data entry is standardized instead of freeform. Photos, quality ratings and condition ratings are built into the report instead of being bolted on at the end. Less narrative. More structured data. A much more detailed picture of the property.

THE TIMELINE

1. September 8, 2025. A limited group of approved lenders started submitting in the new format. Everyone else stayed on the old forms.
2. January 26, 2026. Broad production opened. That's where we've been all year, which is why some of your neighbors have already been through the new process and some haven't. November 2, 2026: The mandate. All new appraisal reports must be UAD 3.6.
3. November 2, 2026. The mandate. May 3, 2027: The old format retires for good. That revision exemption goes away, and everything conforms. The only carve out is revisions to appraisals already delivered under the old standard.
4. May 3, 2027. The old format retires for good. That's the point of the whole thing.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU AS A SELLER

If you've added square footage, enclosed a patio, built out a summer kitchen, or converted space, have the permit records ready. Unpermitted work has always been a problem in an appraisal. In a structured report, it's a more visible one.

1. Pull your permits. Appraisers do not check permits, however unpermitted work could be a problem in an appraisal. Document your improvements with dates.
2. Under air, accurately. Not the tax roll number if the tax roll is wrong. It will not be the seller’s responsibility to confirm square footage, yet taking care of this prior to closing would be beneficial.
3. Know your real square footage when visiting the property. Expect a longer visit. More data collected on site means more time on site. Although it is not the Seller’s responsibility to confirm square footage, it will make the process mush quicker to have these items handled prior to selling the property will make the process much quicker. 
4. Expect a longer visit. More data collected on site means more time on site. That's normal, not a red flag.
5. Don't panic about the format. A new reporting structure doesn't change what your home is worth. It changes how the value gets documented and explained.

THE WESTON WRINKLE

This applies to appraisals for GSE conforming loans. In our market a lot of transactions are cash, or financed through jumbo and portfolio products that sit outside those requirements. So depending on your buyer, none of this may touch your closing at all. "Although Jumbo and Portfolio products DO NOT currently require the new appraisal format, it is expected that Jumbo programs and Portfolio programs will require the new appraisal process going forward. Usually Jumbo Programs and Portfolio programs implement the Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac Guidelines for these kind of changes after the GSE implement the requirements. Most lenders will automatically order the New Appraisal format for all loan programs, including Jumbo and Portfolio programs from October 2026 onwards" Tony Gemmel, Guarantee Rate Affinity.  Which is exactly why it belongs in the conversation early. Once we know how a buyer is financing, we know which process we're walking into and we can prepare for it.

HOW WE'RE HANDLING IT

We build the documentation file at listing, not at contract. Permits, improvement dates, square footage verification, system ages. All of it assembled up front so when an appraiser walks in, the information is already sitting there waiting. It's the same thing we do to support pricing. It just matters more now. If you're thinking about selling and want to know how your property lines up before an appraiser ever sets foot inside, reach out. We're happy to walk through it.

Source for the UAD 3.6 rollout timeline: Florida Realtors and Fannie Mae single family lender guidance.