What Do Appraisers Look for When Valuing a Home?
Local Guide Sankari Subburaman October 22, 2026
Local Guide Sankari Subburaman October 22, 2026
If you are buying or selling, the appraisal is the number that can make or break your closing. A licensed appraiser measures the house, compares it to recent sales nearby, rates its condition and quality, and weighs outside factors like the street, the lot, and the local market. The result is an opinion of value that your lender relies on. When it lands at or above the contract price, the deal moves on. When it comes in low, you have a gap to solve. As a Realtor in Seattle, I see appraisals shape closings every month, so here is what appraisers actually check and how you can prepare for them.
Appraisers lean hardest on comparable sales, usually called comps. These are homes that sold recently, sit close to yours, and look a lot like it. Most appraisers want sales from the last three to six months, and the closer to your address, the better.
They match on size, age, style, bedroom and bathroom count, lot size, and general condition. No two houses are identical, so the appraiser adjusts the comp's sale price up or down for each difference. A comp with a finished basement that your house lacks gets a downward adjustment. A comp with a smaller lot gets an upward one.
In the Seattle area this gets tricky fast. A house on one side of a ridge or a busy arterial can sell for far more or less than a near-identical house a block away. Good comps are rarer than most owners expect, and that is why the choice of comps drives the final number.
Do not assume the square footage from your listing or county record will be accepted as is. The appraiser measures the exterior and calculates gross living area. Only finished, heated space with proper ceiling height counts toward it.
That rule catches many sellers off guard. A finished basement that sits mostly below grade is typically listed separately from above-grade living area and valued at a lower rate. A garage conversion done without a permit may not count at all. Attics, sunrooms without heat, and enclosed porches face the same scrutiny.
Layout matters too. Three bedrooms and two baths with a sensible flow will appraise better than the same footage broken into awkward pieces. A bedroom you must walk through to reach another bedroom, or a bathroom only reachable through the kitchen, is the kind of thing that draws a negative note.
Appraisers score two separate things, and people often blur them together. Condition describes how well the house has been maintained. Quality describes what it was built with.
A 1998 home with original granite counters and solid-wood cabinets has higher build quality than a flip with thin laminate, even if the flip looks brighter on the day of the visit. Condition then asks whether the roof is aging, whether the windows seal, whether the floors are worn, and whether the systems still work.
Here is what typically gets noticed on a walkthrough:
Deferred maintenance pulls value down more than most owners guess. An appraiser cannot assume a problem is minor, so a visible issue gets priced as though it needs a full repair.
A renovated kitchen or bath does help. The appraiser is not looking at your taste, though. They want to know whether buyers in that neighborhood pay more for that level of finish.
A $90,000 kitchen in a neighborhood where the typical home sells for much less may not return its cost. A fresh coat of neutral paint and new flooring in a dated house often does more. Features that fit the area, such as a functional layout, updated mechanicals, and good windows, tend to be recognized. Highly personal choices, like a bold tile pattern or a built-in that serves one hobby, are usually not.
You can renovate a house, but you cannot move it. Appraisers look hard at where the property sits, and the lot features that come with it.
School boundaries, walkability, commute times, noise from highways or flight paths, and nearby commercial use all shape value. So do the lot itself: its size, slope, drainage, privacy, and usable yard. In Seattle and across the Eastside, views of the water, the Cascades, or the Olympics can add real money, while a lot that floods or sits on a steep hillside can cost it.
Appraisers also read the market in the neighborhood. Falling inventory and rising prices push values up. A wave of price cuts or a long stretch on market for similar homes pulls them back down.
The appraiser will note whether additions and conversions look permitted. An accessory dwelling unit with a proper permit and separate entrance can be valued as an income-producing feature. The same unit built without permits may be excluded from the value or flagged as a concern for the lender.
Other features that earn a line in the report include an updated heating system, solar panels you own outright, a new roof, a finished garage, and energy-efficient windows. Leased solar panels are treated differently from owned ones, and your agent should check which type you have before the visit.
A low appraisal does not end the deal. You have a few options. The buyer can bring more cash to cover the difference between the appraised value and the purchase price. The seller can lower the price, or both sides can meet somewhere in the middle. If the appraiser missed a relevant comp or made a factual error, your agent can submit a reconsideration of value with better evidence.
Some contracts include an appraisal contingency that lets the buyer walk away if the value falls short. Whether you have one, and how it is written, matters a great deal in a competitive market, so settle it before you make an offer.
You cannot control the number, but you can control the information the appraiser has.
Clean and declutter so the house reads as well kept. Fix small, visible problems like leaky faucets, loose handrails, and burned-out bulbs. Unlock gates, clear access to the attic and crawl space, and make sure utilities are on.
Then put together a short list of improvements with dates and costs. Include permits, receipts, and any recent inspection reports. If you know of strong recent sales that the appraiser might overlook, ask your agent to share them in a polite, factual way. Appraisers are not required to use them, but good data sometimes changes the picture.
An appraisal is an opinion built on evidence, and the evidence you supply and the home's presentation both influence it. If you are preparing to buy or sell and want help reading the numbers, I can walk you through the comps, the likely appraised value, and the best plan if the number surprises you. Whether you want a Real Estate Agent Kirkland WA buyers and sellers can call for a straight answer or simply a second opinion on your numbers, reach out to Sankari Realty.
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