Key takeaways
- A standard home appraisal costs $300 to $600, with the national average around $350 to $400.
- The appraisal type matters as much as the property: desktop and drive-by options can cost as little as $75, while VA appraisals now run $650 to $1,500 or more.
- Buyers typically pay, and the fee is part of closing costs. Refinancing homeowners pay too, since there's no seller to negotiate with.
- A low appraisal isn't the end of the deal. Reconsideration requests, price renegotiation, and appraisal contingencies all give you a way out.
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The short answer
A standard home appraisal costs $300 to $600 for most single-family homes, with the national average sitting closer to $350 to $400. Larger, more complex, or high-value properties can push that number to $800 or more, and appraisals ordered under a government-backed loan program often run higher still.
The final figure depends on where the home is, how big it is, what kind of loan is attached to it, and which type of appraisal the lender requires. We’ll walk through each of those, then cover who actually pays the bill, what happens if the number comes back lower than you hoped, and how the appraisal fits into the picture if you’re financing an investment property rather than a primary residence. If you’re running the numbers on a deal right now, it’s worth checking New Silver’s real estate calculators to see how an appraisal figure feeds into your loan-to-value ratio before you commit to anything.
What drives the cost of a home appraisal?
An appraisal fee isn’t a flat rate. It reflects how much work the appraiser has to put in, and several factors push that number up or down.
| Factor | How it affects cost |
|---|---|
| Property size and type | Larger homes, multi-family properties, and manufactured homes take longer to measure and value, which raises the fee. |
| Location | Rural areas mean more travel time for the appraiser; high-demand metros mean more requests competing for fewer appraisers. |
| Condition | Homes needing repairs or with unusual layouts take more time to document and value accurately. |
| Availability of comps | Fewer nearby comparable sales means more research time, especially for unique or isolated properties. |
| Appraisal type | A full interior appraisal costs more than a desktop or drive-by option (more on this below). |
| Loan program | FHA, VA, and USDA loans often carry higher fees than conventional loans due to added documentation requirements. |
| Turnaround time | Rush requests typically carry a premium for prioritized scheduling. |
Types of home appraisals and how much each one costs
Not every appraisal involves a full walkthrough. Lenders sometimes allow lighter-touch options, and the type used has a direct effect on price.
A full (traditional) appraisal has a licensed appraiser visit the property in person, inspect the interior and exterior, and compile a detailed comparable sales analysis. This is the standard for most purchase loans and typically costs $300 to $600, rising to $800 to $1,500 or more for luxury or unusual properties.
A desktop appraisal skips the visit entirely: the appraiser relies on public records, tax data, and existing photos, which brings the cost down to $75 to $200.
A drive-by (exterior-only) appraisal has the appraiser inspect the outside of the home and review available records without going inside, usually $100 to $150.
A hybrid appraisal splits the work between two people: one handles the on-site data collection while a separate licensed appraiser analyzes it remotely, typically running $250 to $375.
Here’s how the two broad categories compare side by side:
If you’re financing a fix and flip, this distinction matters. New Silver’s fix and flip loans require an interior appraisal with recent comparable sales, since the after-repair value drives the loan structure, and there’s little room for a desktop estimate when a renovation budget is riding on the number.
How your loan type affects the appraisal cost
The type of mortgage attached to the property changes both the required appraisal type and the fee itself.
| Loan type | Typical cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional | $300–$600 | Standard process, no extra federal documentation required. |
| FHA | $400–$700 | FHA appraisers also check for basic health and safety issues, adding to the scope of work. |
| VA | $650–$1,500+ | The VA sets regional fee schedules, and 2026 pricing reflects appraiser shortages in high-demand counties. |
| USDA | $500–$850 | Rural properties often mean more travel time and fewer comps to work from. |
As of May 2026, VA single-family appraisal fees generally range from $650 to $1,500, with fees on multi-family properties reaching up to $1,800 in remote areas, a noticeable jump from a few years ago, driven largely by appraiser shortages in high-demand counties.
For real estate investors, none of this quite applies. Rental properties are typically financed through DSCR loans rather than owner-occupant programs, and the appraisal there is doing double duty: establishing the property’s market value and, in most cases, its market rent. New Silver’s DSCR loan requirements guide walks through how that appraisal fits into the underwriting timeline, and the DSCR calculator can help you check whether a property’s projected rent will actually cover the debt before you order anything.
Who pays for the appraisal, and is it part of closing costs?
In a standard purchase, the lender orders the appraisal, but the buyer pays for it. It’s baked into the closing costs, and the fee is usually collected upfront rather than rolled into the loan balance, though this varies by lender.
A few nuances worth knowing: the fee is typically charged shortly after the appraisal is ordered, often before the loan even closes. A buyer can negotiate for the seller to cover the appraisal fee as part of broader closing cost concessions, though this is less common than concessions on repairs or points. On a refinance, the homeowner pays, since they’re the one initiating the transaction and there’s no seller in the picture to negotiate with. And if you’re ordering an appraisal outside a loan transaction, to set a listing price, for instance, you pay directly and can choose your own appraiser, which isn’t allowed on a financed deal. The CFPB’s valuation independence rule prohibits lenders or their agents from selecting an appraiser in a way that compromises the appraiser’s independent judgment. That rule, part of the broader Dodd-Frank-era reforms, is why neither the buyer nor the seller gets to hand-pick the appraiser on a financed transaction.
What appraisers actually look at, and why it affects the fee
An appraiser isn’t just eyeballing the house. They’re building a defensible estimate of market value, and every piece of that process adds time, which adds cost.
They note the general upkeep of the property, the condition and age of major systems, and any visible safety issues, a well-maintained home is often faster to appraise than one needing extensive repairs. Permanent improvements count too: a finished basement or a new roof matters, while a hot tub the seller plans to take with them doesn’t. The appraiser also pulls recent sales of similar nearby homes and adjusts for differences in size, condition, and features, and fewer comps in the area, common in rural markets or with unusual properties, means more research time.
For a rental property, the appraiser may also need to assess market rent, which feeds directly into cap rate and DSCR calculations. If you want to see how a property’s appraised value and projected income interact before you order anything, New Silver’s cap rate calculator is a quick way to check whether the numbers make sense at a given price point.
How long does the appraisal process take?
Ordering to report delivery usually takes 1 to 3 weeks, though it can stretch longer in markets with appraiser shortages or during high-volume seasons. The process breaks into three stages: ordering (same day to a few days), the physical inspection (a few hours, if it’s a full or hybrid appraisal), and the report itself (anywhere from a few days to two weeks, depending on the appraiser’s workload and how many comps they need to track down).
Ground-up construction projects add another layer. New Silver’s ground up construction loans require an interior appraisal with comps pulled from sales within a five-mile radius over the past twelve months, which can take longer to source in newer or less-established neighborhoods.
What to do if the appraisal comes in low
A low appraisal is arguably the biggest risk tied to paying for one in the first place, since your lender won’t finance more than the appraised value. Here’s how that decision tree typically plays out:
The bottom line
Most homeowners will pay somewhere between $300 and $600 for a standard appraisal, with government-backed loans and rural or high-demand markets pushing that number higher. The type of appraisal, whether it’s a full inspection, a desktop review, or something in between, has as much influence on the final cost as the property itself. If you’re financing an investment property rather than a primary residence, that appraisal is doing extra work, tying directly into the rent and cash flow numbers your loan depends on. Whether you’re buying, refinancing, or scaling a rental portfolio, it’s worth budgeting for the fee early rather than treating it as a surprise line item at closing.
