Sep 2, 2026 · 22 min
UAD 3.6 pushes appraisals toward structured data
Joni Pilgrim on UAD 3.6 and how AI could disrupt appraisals
The appraisal industry is adapting to a data-driven reporting system while weighing how AI can support, rather than replace, professional judgment.
- 1UAD 3.6 modernizes appraisal reporting through more standardized, structured, and data-driven information.
- 2AI may handle data and support analysis, but appraisers remain essential for observation, expertise, and judgment.
- 3Joni Pilgrim’s move from Nationwide Appraisal Network to RISE reflects consolidation and new priorities in mortgage leadership.
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Pilgrim makes the case that AI will transform appraisal work without eliminating the appraiser’s need for observation, expertise, and judgment.
The brief
Joni Pilgrim, former co-founder and CEO of Nationwide Appraisal Network, looks back at how technology, the financial crisis, COVID-19, and appraisal management companies reshaped the profession.
UAD 3.6 is presented as more than a new form: it moves appraisal reporting toward standardized, structured data, bringing both modernization and an adjustment period.
On AI, Pilgrim rejects a simple replacement narrative. Technology can handle data and support analysis, while property observation, professional expertise, and judgment remain human responsibilities.
After selling Nationwide Appraisal Network following 22 years, Pilgrim partnered with Stewart Valuation Intelligence and turned toward building RISE Women in Mortgage.
The episode’s central tension is clear: appraisers face major technological change, but the profession’s value may increasingly lie in the judgment technology cannot supply.
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