Joel DyckReal Broker SK Ltd.
Saskatoon · From the topic map

How does an agent handle a Saskatoon listing when my buyer's appraisal comes in below the contract price?

A listing agent's job at that point is to test the appraisal, then protect the price without losing the deal. That means supplying the appraiser with sold comparables and a written record of improvements, checking the report for factual errors, and only then talking about a price adjustment or a shared shortfall with the buyer.

The first move is factual. An appraiser holding an Appraisal Institute of Canada designation works from measured area, comparable sales and adjustments, and every one of those inputs can be challenged with evidence. A permitted garage, a professionally developed basement, a new furnace and shingles inside the last five years, and updated windows are all documentable, and none of it reaches the appraiser automatically.

The second move is arithmetic in front of the seller. Seller closing costs generally run 4 to 6 percent of the sale price once commission, legal fees and adjustments are counted, so a seller comparing a small price reduction against relisting needs both numbers side by side. With Saskatoon at 1.63 months of supply, a good property will find another buyer, but that buyer will very likely face an appraisal that lands in the same place.

The third move is the one that should have happened first. An overpriced listing produces exactly this outcome, and the cure is pricing from documented improvements and real comparables at the outset. Joel Dyck's hand-reviewed valuation builds that evidence file before the listing goes live, which is also the file that answers an appraiser later.

Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.

Still have a question?

Ask Joel directly. No form, no obligation, and a real answer even when the answer is that now is not the time to sell.