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The new appraisal rules for 2026 took effect on November 2, and most sellers will find out mid-escrow. The report behind most conventional home loans now collects more than 900 data points, up from about 190. As a result, it changes how your square footage, your ADU and your home’s condition show up on paper.
First, a disclaimer: I’m not an appraiser. However, I’ve bought and sold more than 100 properties with my own money on the line, and every one had to clear an appraisal. That’s why investors plan for that checkpoint before they make an offer. Here’s how to do the same as a seller in Gig Harbor, Tacoma and the South Sound.
What changed with the appraisal report in 2026?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac retired the appraisal forms appraisers relied on for about 20 years, including the familiar 1004. Instead, they now use one redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR). The data standard behind it goes by the name UAD 3.6. Because it’s national, it applies in Washington the same way it applies everywhere else.
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- January 26, 2026: any lender could start using the new report
- November 2, 2026: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began requiring it for new conventional appraisals
- May 19, 2027: lenders with an approved exception can keep using the old format until this date
- FHA and VA: FHA accepts both formats and hasn’t set a required date. Meanwhile, VA hasn’t announced a date.
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Keep in mind that the deadline follows the date the appraiser submits the report, not your contract date. So ask the lender which format your buyer’s appraisal will use.
Why did Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac change it?
In short, they want the same structured data on every home. The old forms relied on free-form comments, which are hard to analyze across millions of loans. In contrast, the new report swaps most of those comments for standard fields. Even so, the method appraisers use to reach value, comparing your home to recent sales, stayed largely the same.
Also, not every loan gets a full appraisal. Depending on the loan, Fannie Mae may accept the lender’s value with no appraisal at all. In other cases, a property data collector visits to photograph and measure the home. Otherwise, the lender orders a desktop, hybrid or traditional appraisal. Either way, treat a data collector’s visit like an appraisal visit.
What else should sellers know?
The full post goes further. For example, it covers how appraisers now measure basements and low ceilings, plus the Washington ADU catch. It also explains what to have ready on appraisal day and what to do if the number comes in low. Finally, it ends with a seller appraisal checklist.
Read the full guide and seller checklist at www.carlygre.com →
Carly Grundmann, REALTOR®, SRES® · Windermere Professional Partners, Gig Harbor. Licensed real estate broker, not an appraiser. General information, accurate as of November 2026. Not appraisal, lending, legal or tax advice.
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