Ascent Software Group, the appraisal software company behind Jaro, has acquired tech developer Value Acceptance.
Value Acceptance focuses on enhancing and modernizing products for the property service industry, including using LiDAR and augmented reality to create floor plan technology.
ASG says Value Acceptance will facilitate a “best-in-class” data collection tool for completing property data reports required by the GSEs.
“Joining the Ascent team, along with our ability to integrate our industry-leading property data collection technology across the Jaro suite, will supercharge our ability to get our innovative solution into the hands of as many property professionals as possible,” Tom Spencer, Co-Founder and Head of Sales and Marketing at Value Acceptance said.
“Combining forces with Jaro and Ascent means we can 10x our impact and drive appraisal modernization forward as a team.”
The new technology will boost ASG’s end-to-end suite of appraisal-focused products, Jaro, and further modernize the appraisal process.
“Our Jaro platform is already a leader in delivering the best end-to-end appraisal in the market and this will allow us to extend that to these new GSE products. We are excited to bring this technology to market and for what the future holds with the tools we build,” Gareth Borcherds, Managing Director of ASG, said.
Appraisals are one area where AI is having a huge impact on the homebuying process.
A 2022 study found that appraisals take an average of 16 business days to complete, and even longer in rural areas, slowing a home time-to-market. Automated Valuation Models that use AI to analyze factors like property features, location, and market dynamics can help shorten the process, and some hope that relying more on tech will address problems like racial bias in appraisals.
ASG is a prop-tech solutions provider delivering appraisal automation to the mortgage industry.