Appraisal Gap in Davie, FL: What to Do When It Comes in Low 2026

Written by Anthony Spitaleri, Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker and a Davie native. More about Anthony

What is an appraisal gap and what should you do if your Davie appraisal comes in low?

A low appraisal is the most common way a Davie deal stalls after both sides have already signed. You won the home, your offer was accepted, you are mentally moved in. Then the lender’s appraiser values the property below what you agreed to pay, and the financing no longer covers the price. This is the appraisal gap, and in a market where Davie’s median sale price is up 8.5 percent over last year, fast moving prices and a thin pool of recent comparable sales make it more common than buyers expect.

Here is the mechanic that matters. Your mortgage is a percentage of the appraised value, not the contract price. If you agreed to pay $600,000 and the appraisal comes back at $580,000, the lender will only lend against $580,000. That $20,000 difference does not disappear. Somebody has to absorb it, or the deal does not fund. Who absorbs it, and how, is entirely up to what you and the seller negotiate next.

Why appraisals come in low in Davie

Appraisers value a home by comparing it to similar properties that sold recently and nearby. In Davie that comparison is harder than it sounds. The housing stock ranges from production homes in 33324 and 33325 to one and two acre equestrian parcels in 33330, and a true comparable sale for an acreage property with a barn can be miles away and months old. When recent sales are scarce or mismatched, the appraised number can lag what buyers are actually paying today.

The current market makes the gap more likely, not less. Davie homes are selling at roughly 96.52 percent of list price, and the median time on market is 38 days, which means motivated buyers are still competing and prices are still climbing. Appraisals look backward at closed sales. Prices look forward at what the next buyer will pay. In a rising market those two numbers separate, and the space between them is where the appraisal gap lives. You can track where current Davie values actually sit through the Davie market data and the broader Davie real estate market report.

None of this means the appraisal is wrong. It means the appraised value is one professional’s backward looking opinion, and you now have a decision to make about a forward looking price you already agreed to.

Your five options when the appraisal is below the contract price

This is a decision framework, not a prescription. The right move depends on how much you want the home, how much cash you hold, what your contract says, and how the seller reads the rest of the market. Run all five against your own numbers before you respond.

Option one: pay the gap in cash. You bring the difference to closing on top of your down payment. On a $20,000 gap, that is $20,000 in additional cash, and it does not count toward your equity beyond what the home is appraised to be worth. Buyers who are certain the home is worth more than the appraisal, and who have the reserves, choose this in a competitive situation. It is the strongest signal to a seller, and it is the most expensive to you.

Option two: renegotiate the price down to the appraised value. You ask the seller to lower the contract price to what the home appraised for. In a slower segment, or when the seller has few other offers, this often works because the next buyer’s lender will likely produce the same appraisal. The seller’s alternative may be starting over. Your agent’s read on the seller’s position decides whether this is realistic.

Option three: split the difference. You and the seller each absorb part of the gap. On a $20,000 gap, you might bring $10,000 in cash and the seller drops the price $10,000. This is the common middle ground when both sides want the deal and neither wants to carry the whole gap alone.

Option four: dispute the appraisal. You request a reconsideration of value and submit recent comparable sales the appraiser may have missed. This is covered in detail below. It is the right first step whenever you believe the appraised number is genuinely too low rather than the price being too high.

Option five: walk away. If you kept an appraisal contingency in your contract, a low appraisal lets you exit and recover your deposit. This is the protection you negotiated for at the offer stage, and it is why the contingency decision at offer time matters so much. How you structure that protection is part of the larger question of whether you need buyer representation in Florida.

Appraisal contingency versus appraisal gap coverage

These two clauses sound similar and do opposite things. Confusing them at the offer stage is what leaves buyers exposed when the appraisal comes in low.

An appraisal contingency protects you. It says that if the home appraises below the contract price, you can renegotiate or walk away and keep your deposit. It is a safety valve. The trade off is that contingencies make your offer weaker against competing buyers who waive theirs.

Appraisal gap coverage protects the seller. It is a clause you add to your offer promising that if the appraisal comes in low, you will cover the gap up to a stated amount in cash. Buyers use it to win in a competitive situation by signaling they will not let a low appraisal kill the deal. The trade off is real cash risk if the appraisal disappoints. The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains how the appraisal fits into the broader closing process in its guidance on appraisals and closing.

The decision between protecting yourself with a contingency and strengthening your offer with gap coverage is one of the most consequential calls you make as a buyer, and it happens before you ever see the appraisal. That is the moment to have it modeled, not after the number comes back. The full home buying process in Davie walks through where this decision sits in the timeline.

How to challenge a low appraisal in Davie

If you believe the appraisal is too low, you can request a reconsideration of value through your lender. You do not contact the appraiser directly. Here is the path.

First, get the full appraisal report and read it for factual errors. Wrong square footage, an incorrect lot size, a missed bedroom, or a comparable sale that is not actually comparable are all legitimate grounds. Second, assemble recent comparable sales the appraiser did not use, ideally closings within the last 90 days and close to the subject home, that support the contract price. Third, submit the request in writing through your loan officer with the specific data attached. The National Association of Realtors publishes research on appraisal trends and disputes that shows reconsiderations succeed most often when they are built on hard comparable sales rather than on the buyer’s opinion of value.

A reconsideration is not a guarantee. Appraisers revise their numbers when the new evidence is strong and decline when it is thin. But it is the only one of your five options that can change the appraised value itself rather than just deciding who pays for the gap, which is why it is worth doing well before you reach for your checkbook or your exit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if the appraisal is lower than the offer in Davie, Florida?

Your lender will only finance against the lower appraised value, not your higher contract price, so a gap opens between what you owe and what the loan covers. You then choose among five responses: pay the gap in cash, renegotiate the price down, split the difference, dispute the appraisal, or walk away if you have an appraisal contingency. The deal cannot close until the gap is resolved.

Who pays the appraisal gap, the buyer or the seller?

Whoever the contract says. There is no default rule. If you signed appraisal gap coverage, you agreed to pay it up to your stated cap. If you kept an appraisal contingency, you can push the price down to the appraised value or exit. Most resolved gaps in a balanced market end in a renegotiated price or a split, where buyer and seller each absorb part of the difference.

Can I get out of a contract if the appraisal comes in low in Florida?

Yes, if you kept an appraisal contingency in your purchase contract. That clause lets you renegotiate or cancel and recover your deposit when the home appraises below the contract price. If you waived the contingency or signed gap coverage, walking away may put your deposit at risk, so read your contract before you act.

How common are low appraisals in Davie right now?

More common than in a flat market. Davie’s median sale price is up 8.5 percent year over year and homes sell near 96.52 percent of list, so prices are moving faster than the closed sales appraisers rely on. Unique acreage and equestrian properties are especially prone to a gap because true comparable sales are scarce.

Talk to a Davie Real Estate Expert

Anthony Spitaleri, Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker and a Davie native, models the appraisal decision with buyers before they write the offer, not after the number comes back low. Whether to protect yourself with a contingency or strengthen your offer with gap coverage is a call that depends on the specific home, the competition, and your cash position, and it is far easier to make with the math in front of you. If you want your appraisal strategy built for a specific Davie home before you sign anything, the next step is a direct conversation. Schedule a free 15-minute strategy call and walk into your offer with every number known.

Anthony Spitaleri

Living in Davie Florida

954-235-5783

Davie, Florida

livingindavieflorida.com

About Anthony Spitaleri

Anthony Spitaleri is a Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker, one of the most established residential real estate brands, with more than 2,700 offices globally and a track record dating to 1906. A Davie native who returned home in 2025 after 13 years in Miami Beach, Anthony specializes in luxury homes and estates above $1 million, acreage and equestrian properties with no HOA, and relocation buyers moving to Davie from out of state. He created livingindavieflorida.com, the most comprehensive independent Davie real estate resource available, with in-depth coverage of Davie’s gated communities, acreage and equestrian properties, and luxury estates, plus original weekly market data, interactive tools, Town Council recaps, and a 24/7 AI concierge. Anthony has been licensed in real estate since 2013 (BK3281907), is a Certified Strategic Coach through Coaching Services International (CSI), an active member of the Davie Cooper City Chamber of Commerce, and a weekly volunteer at Bit by Bit Therapeutic Riding Center in Davie.