diff --git a/module_build_service/scm.py b/module_build_service/scm.py
index a241c95d..8444d25f 100644
--- a/module_build_service/scm.py
+++ b/module_build_service/scm.py
@@ -98,8 +98,6 @@ class SCM(object):
                 self.name = self.name[:-4]
             self.commit = match.group("commit")
             self.branch = branch if branch else "master"
-            if not self.commit:
-                self.commit = self.get_latest(self.branch)
             self.version = None
         else:
             raise ValidationError("Unhandled SCM scheme: %s" % self.scheme)
@@ -351,6 +349,9 @@ class SCM(object):
     @property
     def commit(self):
         """The commit ID, for example the git hash, or None."""
+        if not self._commit:
+            self._commit = self.get_latest(self.branch)
+
         return self._commit
 
     @commit.setter
diff --git a/tests/test_scm.py b/tests/test_scm.py
index a3f1bd80..38678a26 100644
--- a/tests/test_scm.py
+++ b/tests/test_scm.py
@@ -93,7 +93,10 @@ class TestSCMModule:
 
     def test_verify_unknown_branch(self):
         with pytest.raises(UnprocessableEntity):
-            module_build_service.scm.SCM(repo_url, "unknown")
+            scm = module_build_service.scm.SCM(repo_url, "unknown")
+            # Accessing the commit property will cause the commit to be resolved, causing an
+            # exception
+            scm.commit
 
     def test_verify_commit_in_branch(self):
         target = "7035bd33614972ac66559ac1fdd019ff6027ad21"