Why a Low Appraisal Isn't the Final Word on Your Home

By Dave Robison

Dave Robison is one of Utah’s most accomplished and trusted real estate professionals, having sold over 3,400 homes in just over 26 years.

Here’s a scenario that stops sellers cold: the offer is accepted, the deal is moving, and then the appraisal comes in low. At that point, most agents tell their client the same thing, match the appraisal, drop the price, move on, and get the deal done. That’s not what I do. I fight it. And by doing exactly that, I’ve recovered up to $110,000 on a single home for a client.

An appraisal is an opinion, not a fact. Here’s something a lot of sellers don’t realize. An appraisal is literally defined as an opinion of value. And let’s be honest, some opinions are better than others. There isn’t one magic number your home is worth. There are comparable sales that show what other homes went for, but no single, definitive figure carved in stone.

As Fannie Mae explains, an appraisal is one trained professional’s independent assessment, and when you believe that assessment is unsupported or inaccurate, there’s a formal process to have it reconsidered. That’s the part most people never hear about.

You often get what you negotiate, not what you’re worth. This is true in life, and it’s especially true in real estate. So when an appraisal comes in low, a lot of agents panic. They tell the seller to drop the price, match the appraisal, and just close. That can cost you thousands of dollars, sometimes tens of thousands, sometimes more. I don’t do that.

Instead, I dig into the comparables, challenge the report, and look for the angles that get my clients the money they deserve. I’ve done this many, many times, and the recoveries have ranged from a few thousand dollars all the way up to $110,000.

A number on a report doesn’t make it right. An appraisal is an opinion, not a verdict. Just because a figure shows up on a report doesn’t mean it’s correct. Comparables can be cherry-picked. Adjustments can be off. And sometimes the appraiser simply doesn’t know the neighborhood the way I do after decades of working these streets.

You don’t have to accept a low appraisal as the final word, and the same lesson shows up in other ways, too. Sometimes what looks like a market or value problem is really a strategy problem, as I broke down in why a rising market didn’t save one Utah home sale.

Who’s fighting for you makes the difference. When the appraisal comes in low, ask yourself who you want on your side. Someone who’s handled this over and over and knows exactly how to push back, or someone who’s never dealt with an appraisal issue before and tells you to just drop the price? After 26 years and over 3,000 homes sold, I’ve seen every appraisal scenario there is. That experience is exactly what a low number calls for, and it’s the whole idea behind The Utah Dave Way.

If you’re selling a home and want someone who’ll fight for every dollar, let’s talk. Call or text me at 801-966-4000 or email me at dave@utahdave.com, and you can find more at utahdave.com.

Let’s talk about what The Utah Dave Way can do for your home.