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84 public records, multiple listing service (MLS) information, and other third-party data sources to identify the property characteristics." According to Bob Murphy, Founder of Collateral Advisors, LLC, and former Director of Property Valuation and Eligibility at Fannie Mae, "ese are temporary solutions to a temporary problem. At the same time, this might provide some good data to analyze the effectiveness, good or bad, of using third-party data for subject property information in lieu of an inspection by the appraiser for certain loans." Murphy added that, currently, "there is no standardized uniform desktop appraisal report." Many have chimed in on the obvious shift in the way Americans are doing business in the face of this pandemic, and the probability that some changes will be permanent. In an article that appeared in the Washington Post on March 21, Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, was quoted as saying, "ere's a lot of things where people are just slowly shifting, and this will accelerate that. It's amazing how slowly habits change, where people get stuck in the ruts of doing things, and then you have a shock like this that can change everything. It forces people to overcome the switching costs, figure out something new and say, 'Hey, this is way better.'" It is apparent that the way we were is not the way we will be, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. e term "social distancing" has become a permanent part of our vocabulary, and at certain times and in certain circumstances, it will remain part of our social fabric. How will all of this impact the residential property appraisal industry? It seems as though this is one more instance where change is occurring in front of our noses, but people are failing to see the trend. A little-known fact is that automated valuation technology was developed decades ago at the request of the lending community. ey were dissatisfied with the appraisals they were receiving and wanted greater appraiser efficiency (i.e., shorter turn times), as well as more transparency and defensibility. Since then, "alternative valuation products", many of which had their genesis in AVM technology, have invaded the valuation space that was once the domain of the appraisal profession. e industry once "owned" by appraisers is now dominated by alternative products, yet appraisers continue to shun technology. As a result, appraisers today control a very small portion of the pie that once was theirs. In 2017, Fannie and Freddie began accepting some home-purchase loans without any formal appraisal. Instead, they use analytics and data to develop supporting property valuations in house. is has saved consumers tens of millions of dollars in appraisal fees—at the expense of the appraisal industry. On September 27, 2019, the financial regulatory agencies issued a final rule raising the appraisal threshold for residential real estate transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. Under the new rule, 72% of eligible transactions will be exempt from the appraisal requirement. e final rule requires institutions to obtain an evaluation in lieu of an appraisal. Today, we also see the sanctimony of the property inspection being diminished. Bifurcated appraisals are gaining acceptance, and with the advent of a viral crisis, inspections are being deemed totally unnecessary in some circumstances. While there is no indication that property appraisal is going the way of Woolworth's Five and Dime stores, there is no doubt the industry is experiencing significant change. We see the trend to eliminate appraisal requirements in some circumstances, or to at least soften the requirements from traditional standards. While this does not spell "doom" for the industry, it is a harbinger of things to come. Appraisers must learn to adapt. Quickly. What does this imply? As the shift toward automated analytics continues, the only way the appraiser can remain relevant is by embracing technology and managing it. History tells us appraisers don't perform well with regression-based systems. A decade ago, Bradford Technologies released its CVR technology for use by appraisers. e effort, while admirable, failed because the platform was based on regression. Both appraisers and It is apparent that the way we were is not the way we will be, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The term "social distancing" has become a permanent part of our vocabulary, and at certain times and in certain circumstances, it will remain part of our social fabric.