How Much Does a Home Appraisal Cost?

The home-buying process is exciting, but it also comes with a lot of expenses. One of the first payments you might send is to the appraiser who determines your future home’s market value at a prospective lender’s behest. Most people will pay between $300 and $600 for their appraisal. But your actual costs can vary according to the complexity of the job and the cost of living where the home is located. Be prepared with this guide.

What Is a Home Appraisal?

If you’re paying for a home appraisal, it’s important to understand what you’re getting. An appraisal is a trained professional’s objective assessment of the value of the home you wish to buy. When you’re buying a property, lenders require an appraisal to ensure that the home loan is not more than the home’s value.

Sometimes a home seller will request an appraisal before putting their property on the market. And it’s also often necessary to have an appraisal if you are refinancing your home loan or obtaining a home equity loan or home equity line of credit. But the most common reason for an appraisal is the homebuyer’s mortgage loan process.

You may have mortgage preapproval from a lender, but in order to qualify for a home loan, you’ll still need final approval after your offer is accepted on a property. The appraisal is one step in this process.

The appraiser will visit the house and look around, and will also research sale prices of recent listings nearby that are similar to the one being appraised.

Average Home Appraisal Cost in the US

There isn’t much you can do to control the cost of an appraisal if you’re seeking a home loan. The lender will often recommend an appraisal firm. Let’s take a closer look at what determines home appraisal costs so you’ll have an idea of what to expect.

National Average Cost

The national average cost of a home appraisal for a single-family house ranges from $300 to $600. If the home is of modest size, easy to access, and in a lower cost-of-living part of the U.S., you can expect the appraisal cost to land at the lower end of this range.

High-End and Low-End Ranges

Even in the lowest-priced market, you’ll be hard pressed to find an appraisal for less than $200. Remember that you’re not just paying for the one to three hours the appraiser will spend at the home; the appraiser will have to do online research into “comps” (comparable, recently sold properties) and then generate a written report.

At the high end, an appraisal could run $1,200. This is especially likely if you are purchasing a large property with lots of features besides the house.

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Factors That Affect Home Appraisal Costs

As noted above, a property’s size and amenities can drive appraisal costs. Not surprisingly, a bigger home can often mean a bigger appraisal bill. Here are some things that might influence your appraisal’s cost.

Property Size and Type

How much should a home appraisal cost? Let’s just say the price will rise with the size and complexity of the property being appraised. A home that has many outbuildings such as a barn, stable, guest quarters/ADU, or large garage will have a more costly appraisal. Water features such as a pond or lake (or even a swimming pool) might nudge costs up as well.

Multifamily dwellings have their own (typically higher) appraisal costs, as do commercial properties.

Location and Accessibility

If a home is rural or difficult to access — for example, involving a long drive off the highway or an unpaved access road — an appraiser might charge more for the visit to compensate for time and effort needed to reach the home.

Appraiser Demand and Market Conditions

The type of home loan you are seeking and the availability of an appraiser who specializes in this type of appraisal can also drive costs. Appraisals for a VA loan, backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, may be more expensive than those for conventional mortgages. VA loan appraisals can range from $525 to $1,000. In Alaska, they can be even more costly. VA appraisals are done by specialized VA appraisers, and in markets where VA appraisers are in high demand, the VA has increased appraisers’ fees in response to a shortage of appraisers.

Appraisals for FHA loans, backed by the Federal Housing Administration, may also cost a bit more than an appraisal for a conventional home loan. The average FHA appraisal cost is $400 to $700.

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Who Pays for the Home Appraisal?

Home appraisal cost is usually of most interest to the homebuyer, as it is almost always the buyer who pays for the appraisal. The exception? A home seller wondering how to price a property might engage an appraiser to help guide their decision making. And in the case of an appraisal done to evaluate assets in the case of a divorce, both spouses would likely share the cost.

Home Appraisal vs Home Inspection

Another line item among your home purchase costs is the inspection. You might think it’s not necessary to have both an appraisal and an inspection, but most buyers do need both. The appraiser might look at some of the same things as a home inspector, but a home inspection is a completely different process, designed to inform a potential buyer about potentially costly repairs needed for the property.

How to Save Money on a Home Appraisal

With home prices as high as they are, it’s understandable that you would want to save money wherever possible. Unfortunately, there’s relatively little you can do once you find out how much does a home appraisal cost to bring down its price. The choice of appraiser is largely out of your control as it will be determined by your lender, which in turn will use a referral service to randomly select an appraiser (this helps prevent bias).

Your best bet if you want to save money on a home appraisal is to schedule it promptly (so you don’t need to pay a rush fee to get the report in time to make a lender or contract deadline). Make sure that everyone involved — the appraiser and the seller’s representative, who will provide access to the property — know the day and time of the appraisal. Reconfirm the day before so there is no misunderstanding that has the appraiser showing up to a locked door. And if the home appraisal estimate doesn’t arrive when the appraiser said it would, follow up to make sure it’s on the way.

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Is a Home Appraisal Always Required?

When you’re the homebuyer, getting an appraisal involves a bit of work. But if you’re financing your home purchase, it’s typically required. And even if you are paying cash for the home, you might want an appraisal to ensure you aren’t overpaying.

Occasionally the lender in a home purchase transaction will accept a desktop appraisal, which doesn’t involve a visit to the house and can be slightly less expensive than an ordinary appraisal. (In this case an appraisal waiver will be needed.) The desktop route is more common with home equity lending. Homebuyers and owners tend to like it because it is faster and cheaper than an in-person appraisal. But as a buyer, you’ll have little control over your options.

How to Prepare for a Home Appraisal

The good news is that if you’re the buyer, once you have scheduled the appraisal and coordinated with the seller or seller’s agent to make the home available, you can sit back and wait for the results. The homeowner may tidy up the property so that it shows off to best effect. It’s also the owner’s job to fix a drippy faucet or anything else that might hurt a home appraisal. After all, it is in their best interest for the home to appraise well. Your only job is to ensure that your lender receives the appraisal in a timely fashion so that your home loan process can proceed smoothly.

The Takeaway

An appraisal is one of the first expenses a would-be homeowner will encounter. How much does it cost for a home appraisal? The average cost ranges from $300 to $600. The larger and more complicated or hard-to-reach the property, the more you can expect to pay. An appraisal may also be necessary if you’re refinancing or borrowing based on home equity. And the cost is typically unavoidable if you are planning to finance the property with a home loan. But once the appraisal’s done, you’re one giant step closer to closing on your home.

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FAQ

What is the average cost of a home appraisal?

A home appraisal typically costs between $300 and $600. Appraisals required as part of the VA or FHA loan process may cost more. The larger, more complex, and harder to access a property is, the more the appraisal usually costs.

Are home appraisals included in closing costs?

The appraiser’s fee is typically included in the closing costs, but it is often paid by the homebuyer directly to the appraiser when the appraisal is done, although the buyer sometimes pays the lender, who pays the appraiser. So while it may be listed among the closing costs, the appraisal fee may be paid before the closing.

How long does a home appraisal take?

An appraiser will probably be at the home anywhere from one to three hours. After the home visit, it can take a week to 10 days to receive the appraiser’s report.

Can I choose my own appraiser?

If you’re buying a home, you won’t have any control over the appraiser who visits and files an appraisal report. The appraiser will be provided through your lender. The lender, in turn, will randomly select an appraiser, often using a referral service. This helps ensure that the appraiser is unbiased and not connected with anyone involved in the transaction.

Does a higher appraisal affect my mortgage?

If a home you’re buying appraises for more than you are paying for it, your mortgage amount won’t be affected. But after your sale moves forward and you close on the property, you will have more equity in the home that you had anticipated due to its higher estimated value. If you’re having a home appraised as part of a cash-out refinance, a high appraisal may mean that the amount of money you can borrow against your home will be increased.

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