Data: Home Appraisals Were Higher Than Sale Prices 51% Of the Time

Corporate Settlement Solutions (CSS), a full-suite provider of commercial and residential real estate settlement solutions, released results from an analysis across 10 states that shows home appraisals were higher than sale prices 51% of the time in the first half of 2024. The analysis provides the percent of homes that were over-appraised, under-appraised and appraised at the same value as the sale price (within $2,500.00). It focuses on the 10 states with the highest volume among Corporate Settlement Solutions’ footprint which includes 19 states and the District of Columbia.  

The gap between appraisals and sale prices is the highest that it has been since the start of the pandemic in 2020. That year, according to CSS data, 42% of homes were appraised above the sale price compared with 42% in 2021, 46% in 2022 and 50% in 2023. As of June 2024, the average over-appraisal was 9% among all markets analyzed.

Among the 10 states analyzed, Kentucky had the highest percentage of orders (73%) that appraised over the sale price for the first half of 2024 with an average over-appraised value of 10%. New York had the lowest percentage of homes (34%) that were over-appraised with an average over-appraised value of 5%. North Carolina had the highest average over-appraised value at 33% for the first half of 2024.

In the under-appraised category, New York had the highest percentage of homes (14%) that were under-appraised with an average under-appraised value of 9% for the first half of 2024. Virginia had the lowest percentage of homes (3%) that were under appraised with an average under-appraised value of 9%.   

“The growing gap between home appraisals and actual sale prices underscores the challenges of providing accurate valuations in a rapidly appreciating market with limited inventory,” said Ashley Jelinek, CEO of Corporate Settlement Solutions. “The big question is, how long will this continue given that many housing economists are suggesting that home appreciation is normalizing and, in some markets, even decreasing. It is inflection points like the one we may be approaching that emphasize the importance of accurate, market-centric valuations,” she said.

Appraisal Value vs Sale Price Across 10 States for January-June 2024

State	% of properties appraised over sales price	% of properties appraised at sales price	% of properties appraised under sales price	Average over-appraised value	Average under-appraised value
FL	54.39%	40.35%	5.26%	7.68%	13.25%
KY	72.73%	20.78%	6.49%	9.69%	4.86%
MI	51.85%	43.21%	4.94%	8.32%	8.12%
NC	58.70%	32.61%	8.70%	33.33%	8.52%
NJ	36.67%	52.22%	11.11%	12.07%	5.96%
NY	33.62%	52.34%	14.04%	4.60%	8.52%
OH	45.96%	45.45%	8.59%	8.00%	4.77%
SC	41.94%	48.39%	9.68%	2.48%	5.82%
VA	68.57%	28.57%	2.86%	10.68%	9.01%
WV	63.18%	29.96%	6.86%	9.21%	9.02%
All	51.12%	40.48%	8.4%	8.86%	7.37%