Clear Capital recently announced the integration of AURA, its appraisal underwriting risk analyzer tool, through Encompass Partner Connect, the latest API framework for mortgage technology from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), according to a release.

This modern framework enables industry participants to integrate with ICE solutions and provide their services to loan originators and servicers through secure API-enabled technology.

Available via the Marketplace in the ICE digital lending platform, lenders in Encompass by ICE Mortgage Technology can now access AURA directly in their loan origination system (LOS), reducing review time by 50 percent or more and allowing them to close loans faster.

Clear Capital's AURA is an automated review tool for collateral underwriting that aggregates all the data necessary to fully analyze the risk of an appraisal, providing lenders with a summary report in five minutes or less.

Through a risk-based approach, AURA's use of proprietary tools and data enables customers to identify if appraisals fairly and accurately value properties by highlighting potential risks quickly and early in the review process.

A unique function of AURA is its capabilities in conjunction with Clear Capital's analytics and AI-driven tools that improve the review process. These include:

• ClearPhoto, a powerful set of AI-driven rules that automate the review of property photos and sketches to confirm alignment with appraisal data. ClearPhoto minimizes the time spent identifying discrepancies by instantly checking the accuracy and quality of the property photos.
• Condition Model, which uses AI to assess property condition by leveraging appraisal photos and property data and compares it to the appraiser's C-rating to flag discrepancies.
• ClearAVM, Clear Capital's AI-powered automated valuation model, measures valuation accuracy by instantly confirming whether the appraised value aligns with market comparables.

"Reviewing the appraisal is a critical step in underwriting, and when the underwriter needs to leave the LOS system and provide a manual review, it adds unnecessary time to the process," Dan McAlister, vice president of Product at Clear Capital, said in the release. "Through this integration, lenders will now have the ability to set up automated ordering to receive AURA on every appraisal automatically in Encompass, saving time in the appraisal review process. Together, Clear Capital and ICE Mortgage Technology are simplifying access to world-class valuation products."