More than 1,000 correspondents now using inspection based waivers in July

inspection based waivers in July

For July 2024, GSE issuance totaled $58.7BN, down 3.2% on June. For property valuations, $50.3BN (85.7%) closed using appraisals, down 4.4%, and $7.5BN (12.8%) closed utilizing appraisal waivers, up 5.7% on the prior month. Lenders delivered $915MM (1.56%) with inspection based waivers in July, down 2.3% on June 2024.

Overall, inspection based waivers in June were 10.9% of the combined appraisal waiver (non-appraisal) solutions by loan balance. By number of loans delivered, inspection-based waivers were 12.6% of all waiver solutions.

Combined use of appraisal waivers and inspection based waivers was 14.3% by balance and 15.8% by loan count – the highest month since January 2023.

Agency share of inspection based waivers in July

Fannie Mae Valuation Acceptance + Property Data market share of inspection based waivers in July declined to 45.4% and $415MM, a drop of 12.8%. There remain 385 lenders who have delivered loans through Fannie Mae Valuation Acceptance + Property Data, including 204 independent mortgage companies and 110 banks and 70 credit unions, remained the same as the prior month. A total of 67 lenders issued loans using inspection based waivers in July, up 9.8% from June.

Freddie Mac ACE+ PDR (Automated Collateral Evaluation plus Property Data Report) market share for inspection based waivers in July was 54.6% on increased volume at $499MM, up 8.6%. Freddie Mac participation increased to 381 lenders, including 147 community banks, 29 credit unions, and 207 non-banks. A total of 156 individual lenders issued loans using inspection based waivers in July with ACE+ PDR.

Production channel and top mortgage correspondents

Broker channel issuance was $10.1N in July with 132 lenders delivering loans. The correspondent channel issuance was $18.8N from 198 lenders and retail issuance was $29.8BN from 1,271 lenders.

For inspection based waivers in July, broker volume was $250M and 27.4% of loan delivered, down 8.3% from 25 lenders. Retail channel utilization of inspection-based waivers in July also declined 2.0% to $524M (57.3%) of issuance from 155 lenders.

By contrast, the correspondent channel was up 9.7% to $140M and 15.3% of the overall volume from the prior month, from just 29 aggregators.

The number of correspondents taking advantage of inspection based waiver offers continues to grow. A total of 1064 correspondents (excludes lenders who are also GSE sellers) have now exercised offers, compared to 547 direct GSE sellers. Over 220 correspondents used inspection based waivers in July, more than the combined 178 GSE sellers highlighted above.

When top aggregators are not exercising offers in their retail and broker channels, loan officers at correspondent lenders are still actively accepting appraisal waivers and inspection based waivers to reduce borrower fees, remove the need for an appraisal, and lower credit risk through collateral representations & warranties relief.

More information about inspection based waivers in June

For lenders who wish to learn more, you can check out the the following articles. These include links to the Freddie Mac ACE+ PDR and Fannie Mae Valuation Acceptance and collateral valuation modernization strategies, new programs, selling guide updates, FAQs, process flow, job aids, approved technology and service providers, and information about the property data standards and user guides:

In addition, you can access the Freddie Mac ACE+ PDR Solution page and the Fannie Mae Value Acceptance + Property Data FAQ.