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Nearly 1 in 4 homeowners who challenge an appraisal end up winning a higher valuation, according to the relocation firm Dwellworks.
It’s a sign that appraisal mistakes are far from rare, and a statistic that stands in stark contrast to President Donald Trump’s recent rollback of Biden-era rules designed to make it easier for borrowers to dispute low valuations.
But in a surprising twist, some of the nation’s largest lenders are refusing to follow Washington’s lead and are keeping the borrower-friendly review process in place.
What changed—and what lenders are keeping it the same
In 2022, then–Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a 21-point plan to make it easier for homeowners to contest appraisals they believed undervalued their property. The changes gave borrowers step-by-step instructions for filing disputes, access to the documentation behind their valuations, and greater transparency into how those numbers were reached.
The reforms were part of a broader effort to combat racial bias in home appraisals, a problem that studies show has cost Black and Latino homeowners billions in lost equity.
The Trump administration has since dismantled key parts of that framework, stripping out several borrower-rights and transparency provisions, and offering lenders the opportunity to ignore the Biden-era guidelines. To be clear, the changes don’t block borrowers from challenging an appraisal, they just make it easier for lenders to return to the old, less transparent way of handling those disputes.
Yet for much of the mortgage industry, the rollback has barely registered. Major lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., and U.S. Bancorp, say they plan to keep the Biden-era dispute process in place, Bloomberg reports. It’s a strong signal that these lenders see value in giving customers a clear path to challenge questionable valuations.
The bigger problem: Appraisal bias
Long before the latest policy fight, research made one thing clear: Minority homeowners are more likely to see their homes appraised for less than they’re worth than are other homeowners. A 2021 Freddie Mac analysis found that 12.5% of appraisals in majority-Black neighborhoods and 15.4% in majority-Latino neighborhoods came in below the contract price—nearly double the 7.4% rate in predominantly white areas.
The fallout can be costly: A 2022 Brookings Institute report found that appraisal bias costs Black homeowners $162 billion in cumulative losses.
The problem has been spotlighted in a series of high-profile cases in recent years. In California, a Black couple made headlines when their home’s value jumped by almost $500,000 after they replaced family photos with those of a white friend before a second appraisal.
A home is often a person’s most valuable asset and a powerful lever in generational wealth building. So when its value is artificially deflated, the impact can ripple for decades, limiting equity growth, reducing access to credit, and narrowing opportunities to pass wealth on to future generations.
The stakes for homeowners
For both buyers and sellers, an appraisal isn’t just a formality. In many cases, it can determine whether your home purchase or sale moves forward at all. For buyers, a low number can sink a mortgage approval or lock you into a higher interest rate. For sellers, it can knock thousands off your sale price, even if the market says your home is worth more.
If you do get a low appraisal, don’t assume the number is final. You can request a reconsideration by sharing recent comparable sales, highlighting upgrades the appraiser overlooked, or correcting factual mistakes in the report. Just move quickly—most disputes need to be filed before your financing deadlines close in.
And right now, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Homeownership in the U.S. is at a five-year low, and affordability remains a persistent challenge. For many buyers—especially first-timers banking on favorable loan terms—getting an accurate appraisal isn’t just about the numbers. It’s one of the last tools they have to keep the dream of owning a home alive.