guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the effect of appraisal waivers on
prepayment speeds. It shows that the alignment of Freddie Mac's eligibility criteria with those
of Fannie Mae around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase
in the use of appraisal waivers. Conditional on satisfying the basic eligibility criteria,
appraisal waivers are more common for refinance loans, loans serviced by nonbanks, and …