* Freddie replaced appraisal waivers with ACE+PDR in July 2022 for no cash out loans with LTV greater than 90% and all cash out loans. The
new program requires onsite property information collection.
** Fannie's value acceptance + property data program was activated in Desktop Underwriter on Apr. 15
th
and is reported as “Appraisal
Waiver plus Property Data Collection – Condition” in the data from June 20
th
onwards. Freddie’s ACE+PDR was initially reported as “Onsite
Property Data Collection”, but the reporting changed to "Appraisal Waiver plus Property Data Collection - Condition" on Sep. 7
th
, 2023.
“Onsite Property Data Collection” is now renamed to “Appraisal Waiver plus Property Data Collection – Value”. “Appraisal Waiver plus
Property Data Collection – Condition”, “Appraisal Waiver plus Property Data Collection – Value” and Waiver counts are mutually exclusive.
To read our comment letter to FHFA on appraisal-related policies, practices, and processes, please click here.
Sources: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, tabulated by the AEI Housing Center.
Key Points:
• The share of appraisal waivers for both GSEs
combined for January 2024 stood at 12%, down 0.3
ppts. from last month and down 37 ppts. from its
series’ peak in March 2021. In August 2023, shares
for Fannie and Freddie converged for the first time
since June 2021 and have moved in lock step since
then.
• Freddie introduced ACE+PDR* in July 2022. In
January 2024, these shares stood at 1.7%, 9.4% and
4.8% for Purchase, Cash-Out, and No Cash-Out
loans, respectively.
• Fannie introduced Value Acceptance + Property
Data (VA+PD)** in April 2023. In January 2024, the
share of the new program was 0.5%, 5.5%, and
1.6% for Purchase, Cash-Out, and No Cash-Out
loans, respectively.
• The introduction of both programs subsequently
reduced waiver shares, but the data show that both
programs have not picked up the entire slack,
suggesting further policy changes and/or slow
market pick-up.
• Waivers are granted using a data-based analysis of
the reasonableness of the applicant’s self-valuation.
The data measure whether an appraisal waiver was
used, not only granted, on the loan.
• For detailed and historical data, please see the
spreadsheet on our website.
Prevalence of GSE Appraisal Waivers
January 2024 originations
Appraisal waiver and new program counts and shares by agency and purpose
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
GSE combined
Freddie
Fannie
Share of GSE loans with appraisal waiver, by guarantor
Waiver shares in Jan.2024:
• Fannie: 11%, down from 44% in Sept. 2021
• Freddie: 12%, down from 36% in Sept. 2021
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
Shares of GSE loans with the new programs
Freddie ACE+PDR Purchase
Freddie ACE+PDR Cash-Out
Freddie ACE+PDR No Cash-Out
Fannie VA+PD Purchase
Fannie VA+PD Cash-Out
Fannie VA+PD No Cash-Out
Cash-Out No Cash-Out Purchase Total Cash-Out No Cash-Out Purchase Total
Appraisal 6,237 2,030 43,588 51,855 5,136 2,379 49,163 56,678
Appraisal Waiver plus Property Data Collection - Condition 645 121 887 1,652 420 48 293 760
Appraisal Waiver plus Property Data Collection - Value 0 0 0 0 232 23 192 447
Waiver 0 349 6,893 7,241 1,801 580 4,861 7,242
Total 6,882 2,500 51,367 60,749 7,590 3,029 54,509 65,128
Cash-Out No Cash-Out Purchase Total Cash-Out No Cash-Out Purchase Total
Appraisal 90.6% 81.2% 84.9% 85.4% 67.7% 78.5% 90.2% 87.0%
Appraisal Waiver plus Property Data Collection - Condition 9.4% 4.8% 1.7% 2.7% 5.5% 1.6% 0.5% 1.2%
Appraisal Waiver plus Property Data Collection - Value 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.1% 0.7% 0.4% 0.7%
Waiver 0.0% 14.0% 13.4% 11.9% 23.7% 19.1% 8.9% 11.1%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
January 2024: Counts
Freddie Mac
Fannie Mae
January 2024: %
Freddie Mac
Fannie Mae
* Data are for purchase and refinance loans combined. The top lenders are ranked based on their use of the new valuation programs
(Freddie’s ACE+PDR and Fannie’s VA+PD) from June 2022 to January 2024.
** Include all GSE loans using full appraisal, waiver, or the new valuation programs.
Sources: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, tabulated by the AEI Housing Center.
Freddie ACE+PDR
• A number of smaller lenders were among the early adopters of Freddie’s ACE+PDR program from July 2022 to March
2023.
• In April 2023, Rocket Mortgage began using ACE+PDR and has since become the top lender using the new program.
• In January 2024, Rocket Mortgage (23%) and United Wholesale Mortgage (17%) are the two largest lenders using
ACE+PDR.
Fannie VA+PD
• There has been a distinct shift in the adoption of Fannie’s VA+PD program as it moves away from many smaller
lenders towards a few larger ones.
• For example, a total of 168 lenders used VA+PD in September 2023; however, only 54 lenders used VA+PD in
November 2023.
• Rocket Mortgage has grown to be the largest lender using VA+PD, accounting for 49% (375 out of 760 loans) of all
VA+PD loans in January 2024.
Use of the New Valuation Programs by Lender
January 2024 originations
Top lenders using the new valuation programs by agency
June 2022 - January 2024: Shares*
Freddie
ACE+PDR
Fannie
VA+PD
All GSE
Loans**
Rocket Mortgage
23% 33% 9%
United Wholesale Mortgage
21% 15% 9%
Mr. Cooper
11% 4% 2%
Guaranteed Rate
6% 5% 2%
Pennymac
4% 3% 6%
Rest
36% 40% 72%
Total 100% 100% 100%
Benchmarked against their market shares of all GSE loans**, Rocket Mortgage, United Wholesale Mortgage, Mr. Cooper,
and Guaranteed Rate have a significantly larger share for the new programs. These 4 lenders account for 60% of Freddie’s
ACE + PDR and for 57% of Fannie’s VA + PD. By contrast, they only account for 22% of all GSE loans**.
Use of Freddie ACE+PDR by Lender*
Use of Fannie VA+PD by Lender*
* New valuation programs refer to Freddie ACE+PDR program and Fannie VA+PD program.
** Include all GSE loans using full appraisal, waiver, or the new valuation programs.
Note: Freddie ACE+PDR loans started to appear in our data from September 2022, and Fannie VA+PD loans started to appear from June 2023.
Sources: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, tabulated by the AEI Housing Center.
Compared to banks, non-banks are more likely to originate loans with the new programs*.
From January 2023 to January 2024,
• Non-banks accounted for 91% of GSE loans with a new valuation program (purchase and refinance combined),
but for only 72% of all GSE loans**.
• Banks accounted for 8% of GSE loans with a new valuation program (purchase and refinance combined), but
for 25% of all GSE loans**.
Use of the New Valuation Programs by Lender Type
January 2024 originations
In January 2024, the share of loans using the new valuation programs* is about twice as high for non-banks
as it is for banks.
• The share of Freddie loans using ACE+PDR is 3.1%, 1.3%, and 1.7% for non-banks, large banks, and other
banks, respectively.
• The share of Fannie loans using VA+PD is 1.5%, 0.6%, and 0.1% for non-banks, large banks, and other banks,
respectively.
91%
4%
4%
1%
0%
Share by Lender Type
(New Valuation Programs*)
Non-bank
Other bank
Large bank
Credit union
State housing agencies
72%
9%
15%
2%
1%
Share by Lender Type (All GSE Loans**)
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
Large Bank Non-Bank Other Bank Combined
Share of Freddie loans using ACE+PDR
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
Large Bank Non-Bank Other Bank Combined
Share of Fannie loans using VA+PD
Risk Characteristics of GSE Appraisal Waivers
SHARE OF FREDDIE/FANNIE LOANS WITH AN APPRAISAL OR APPRAISAL WAIVER BY LTV BIN WITH AVERAGE MORTGAGE DEFAULT RATE (MDR)
LTV bin is a major constraint on appraisal waiver eligibility. Even after taking LTV bin into account, the MDRs on loans with an appraisal waiver
are generally lower than for loans without a waiver, indicating the GSEs are applying other credit constraints that further reduce risk.
Sources: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, tabulated by the AEI Housing Center
CLTV Buckets Appraisal
Waiver
Used
Share Using
Waiver
Appraisal
Waiver
Used
Appraisal
Waiver
Used
Share
Using
Waiver
Purchase
60% or below 13.4% 34.8% 29% 1.7% 1.6% 6.7% 24.3% 25%
61 to 70% 7.3% 14.9% 24% 3.8% 3.5% 4.4% 15.1% 24%
71-75% 9.3% 13.0% 18% 5.7% 4.6% 7.7% 14.9% 15%
76-80% 20.8% 37.3% 22% 6.8% 5.9% 26.2% 45.7% 14%
81-85% 4.6% 0.0% 0% 4.7% 0.0% 0%
86-90% 12.1% 0.0% 0% 13.8% 0.0% 0%
91-95% 22.9% 0.0% 0% 28.4% 0.0% 0%
Above 95% 9.6% 0.0% 0% 8.0% 0.0% 0%
60% or below 12.5% 30.3% 19% 1.7% 1.5% 7.3% 22.3% 13%
61 to 70% 7.5% 13.8% 15% 3.8% 3.5% 4.9% 11.7% 10%
71-75% 9.9% 12.2% 11% 5.5% 4.5% 7.8% 11.4% 7%
76-80% 21.7% 43.8% 17% 6.5% 5.9% 24.4% 54.6% 10%
81-85% 4.8% 0.0% 0% 4.2% 0.0% 0%
86-90% 12.7% 0.0% 0% 12.9% 0.0% 0%
91-95% 20.0% 0.0% 0% 25.6% 0.0% 0%
Above 95% 10.9% 0.0% 0% 12.8% 0.0% 0%
Cash-Out
60% or below 60.2% 0% 32.5% 66.5% 2%
61 to 70% 20.2% 0% 20.1% 32.4% 1%
71-75% 10.5% 0% 19.0% 0.0% 0%
76-80% 9.1% 0% 28.4% 0.3% 0%
81-85% 0.0% N/A 0.0% 0.0% 0%
86-90% 0.0% N/A 0.0% 0.0% N/A
91-95% 0.0% N/A 0.0% 0.3% 100%
Above 95% 0.0% N/A 0.0% 0.5% 67%
60% or below 60.0% 84.6% 31% 6.7% 6.5% 32.0% 63.0% 31%
61 to 70% 19.5% 15.4% 20% 14.3% 12.9% 20.9% 37.0% 29%
71-75% 10.6% 0.0% 0% 19.7% 0.0% 0%
76-80% 9.9% 0.0% 0% 27.4% 0.0% 0%
81-85% 0.0% 0.0% N/A 0.0% 0.0% N/A
86-90% 0.0% 0.0% N/A 0.0% 0.0% N/A
91-95% 0.0% 0.0% N/A 0.0% 0.0% N/A
Above 95% 0.0% 0.0% N/A 0.0% 0.0% N/A
No Cash-Out
60% or below 48.4% 46.1% 13% 4.8% 4.6% 23.8% 32.9% 61%
61 to 70% 16.9% 20.4% 16% 10.1% 8.2% 13.8% 24.0% 66%
71-75% 10.7% 12.4% 16% 14.2% 9.8% 11.3% 23.9% 71%
76-80% 11.5% 14.2% 17% 12.7% 10.4% 16.6% 18.7% 56%
81-85% 3.9% 2.8% 10% 16.0% 17.2% 10.1% 0.2% 2%
86-90% 3.8% 4.0% 15% 17.5% 18.5% 12.6% 0.3% 3%
91-95% 4.4% 0.0% 0% 11.1% 0.0% 0%
Above 95% 0.2% 0.0% 0% 0.6% 0.0% 2%
60% or below 42.4% 63.5% 26% 4.4% 4.6% 24.7% 28.7% 57%
61 to 70% 17.5% 15.8% 18% 10.0% 7.8% 14.8% 19.1% 59%
71-75% 13.3% 10.2% 16% 12.3% 11.0% 11.7% 21.1% 67%
76-80% 12.8% 6.7% 11% 11.5% 11.9% 15.7% 18.6% 57%
81-85% 3.8% 1.1% 7% 14.7% 11.4% 9.6% 5.1% 38%
86-90% 5.1% 2.6% 11% 18.6% 16.2% 11.8% 7.5% 42%
91-95% 5.0% 0.0% 0% 11.0% 0.0% 0%
Above 95% 0.1% 0.0% 0% 0.6% 0.0% 0%
Fannie Mae
Agency
Freddie Mac
Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac
Fannie Mae
Average MDR
January 2024
January 2024
April 2020
Freddie Mac