The drive by banks to cut costs in their home loan business is giving rise to a niche industry supplying "desktop" valuations.Vendors say banks have cut costs in this slice of the value chain from more than $200 per loan to around $80, and also cut turnaround times from a few days to a few hours.Those unfamiliar with the terminology will find shades of grey in the meaning of the term desktop. Effectively, it's a valuation technique completed without the valuer leaving their desk, and only in a small percentage of cases do banks require a full inspection.Desktop valuations can involve techniques such as kerbside or restricted assessments which involve only an external inspection of the subject property, statistical modelling based on data inputs, and processes using aerial or front on photographs that may not capture the true conditional or financial hazards waiting inside the property.Vendors refer to the statistical modelling technique as the automated valuation model, or AVM, deriving all outcomes solely from statistical analysis.An alternative approach, known as the electronic value review, or EVR (and a term associated with a particular vendor) combines a statistical risk scenario approach to value properties, with around a third failing the risk scenario which activates a kerbside inspection, with around a half of these then requiring a full inspection. In theory, it's not one size fits all and the approach is driven by risk.