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For transactions that fall within the IAEG thresholds, lenders have a real choice between a full appraisal and a streamlined evaluation — and the two differ meaningfully on cost, timeline, and who can perform them.
A traditional residential appraisal in the U.S. currently averages a few hundred dollars and typically takes about a week to ten days from order to delivery, though this varies by market and appraiser availability. It must be performed by a state-licensed or certified appraiser, following the same methodology regardless of loan size.
An evaluation is built for smaller-dollar, lower-risk transactions where that level of formality isn't required by law. Outsourced evaluations commonly run $275 or more per file with no path to reduce that cost as volume grows — the third party sets the price regardless of how many evaluations you order. Evaluations can also typically be turned around faster, often within five business days, since they don't require scheduling a licensed appraiser's time.
The biggest practical difference, though, is who can prepare each one. An appraisal requires a licensed appraiser by law. An evaluation requires a qualified preparer — which opens the door for institutions to train and use their own staff, provided the resulting reports meet IAEG documentation standards.
That distinction is what makes bringing evaluations in-house a real financial decision rather than just a compliance option. An institution processing evaluations regularly effectively pays a fixed cost per file to a third party indefinitely, when the same volume run through in-house software can bring the effective cost per evaluation down substantially as volume increases — while keeping full control over turnaround time.
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