Episode summary
Joni Pilgrim on UAD 3.6 and how AI could disrupt appraisals
HousingWire Daily
· · 23 min · Hosts: Sarah Wheeler · Guests: Joni Pilgrim
Summary
Joni Pilgrim argues that the appraisal industry has been transformed by technology, regulation, and crisis-driven change. Looking back on 22 years running Nationwide Appraisal Network, she says appraisal management companies evolved from order coordinators into more sophisticated firms handling compliance, quality control, vendor management, data analytics, and risk assessment.
She says COVID and the low-rate era exposed the bottlenecks in a manual, inspection-heavy process, with some states seeing three- to four-week turn times. That pressure helped spur hybrids and other new workflows, and she sees UAD 3.6 as the next step: not just a new form, but a more structured, standardized, data-driven reporting system that can improve consistency, analytics, and risk identification. At the same time, she warns that implementation matters because appraisers, AMCs, lenders, software vendors, and investors all have to adapt.
On AI, Pilgrim does not think it will eliminate appraisers, but she believes it will change their jobs by automating repetitive tasks, reviewing large data sets, spotting anomalies, and improving quality control. Her view is that the future will blend technology with human judgment, especially where condition, location, and market nuance make a property difficult to value from data alone.
Key takeaways
- Pilgrim says UAD 3.6 is a modernization effort that should make appraisal data more structured, standardized, and useful for lenders and risk management.
- She argues the COVID-era surge exposed how dependent the appraisal process still is on manual inspection and limited appraiser capacity.
- Pilgrim expects AI to automate repetitive work and improve review, but not replace the judgment needed for location and condition.
- She says appraisers who learn to use AI effectively will have an advantage over those who refuse to engage with it.
- Pilgrim says the industry has adapted to past disruptions like TRID, and she expects a similar learning curve with UAD 3.6.
Notable quotes
“I think it's really about just modernizing the entire appraisal process. It's about moving appraisal reporting into a much more structured, standardized, and data-driven environment”
“I don't think that AI is going going all of jobs. I I absolutely think AI is going to change the job of the appraiser”
“a property isn't just a collection of data points. I think that condition matters, location matters, market nuances absolutely matter”
“the only constant in this industry is change. So, let's all get used to it”
“the future is going to be a combination of technology with human expertise”
How the episode opens
Welcome everyone. My guest today is Joni Pilgrim, co-founder and CEO of Nationwide Appraisal Network for 22 years until the sale of NAN this summer. She now serves as the membership committee chair for the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals and she's the co-founder of Rise Women in Mortgage. I'm excited to talk to Joni about UAD 3.6, AI in appraisals and more. Joni, welcome to the podcast.
Sarah, thank you so much for having me. — Uh great to have you on here. Um I got to uh be on a panel with you at the uh Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals, which was so much fun. Uh it was a a a Rise panel, Women in Mortgage. We're going to get to that. Um but thank you so much for being on here and talking about appraisals.
I'm happy to be here. Thanks for the invite. And yes, that panel was so much fun. So, thanks for joining us for that.
Absolutely. Okay, well, let's talk about So, you know, I I said in the intro, I mean, you've been in this business um I mean, you ran Nationwide Appraisal Network for 22 years. So, um that's that's not even like what you did before that.
You've seen a lot of how this how this industry has changed. Tell me how you think the appraisal space is different now. What's the What's the biggest thing that hits you uh versus when you started?
Oh my gosh. Um the appraisal industry looked completely different. Technology was nowhere near where it is today. Um I don't think appraisal management companies played the role that they do today. The amount of data available to lenders, to appraisers, to a consumers, especially, was incredibly limited compared to what we have today.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- uad 3.6
- ai in appraisals
- appraisal industry disruption
- mortgage professionals
- appraisals and valuations
Watch the episode
Watch “Joni Pilgrim on UAD 3.6 and how AI could disrupt appraisals” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
More from HousingWire Daily
-
The headlines impacting mortgage rates -
Has housing demand already changed with lower rates? -
How midterms and jobs week will affect rates -
Preparing for Q1 growth in reverse mortgages -
A clear pathway to sub-7% mortgage rates for Thanksgiving? -
Mortgage rates, inflation and those homeowner vacancy numbers
HousingWire Daily, this episode and its artwork belong to HousingWire. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
