Tyce Ortman REALTOR

By Tyce Ortman | July 15, 2026

Whether you’re selling or buying in Sioux Falls, the appraisal is the moment the deal gets a reality check. A licensed appraiser, hired by the buyer’s lender, puts a formal dollar value on the home — and the lender will only lend on that number. Come in at or above the contract price and everyone relaxes. Come in low and you’re suddenly renegotiating, covering a gap in cash, or watching a deal wobble.

The good news: a lot of what moves an appraisal is either in your control or worth knowing before you’re surprised by it. Here’s what hurts your value, and exactly how to prep so the appraiser sees your home at its best.

What actually drags an appraisal down

An appraiser is answering one question: what would this specific home sell for today, based on what comparable homes nearby have actually sold for? They start with recent sales, then adjust up or down for the differences. These are the things that force adjustments in the wrong direction:

• Deferred maintenance. Peeling paint, a leaky faucet, broken fixtures, water stains, sagging gutters. None of these is huge on its own, but together they signal neglect and push the condition rating — and the value — down.
• Dated big-ticket systems. An aging roof, a 20-plus-year-old furnace or AC, an old electrical panel, or original plumbing all read as near-term expenses to the appraiser and the buyer alike.
• Tired kitchens and bathrooms. These two rooms carry outsized weight. If the comps down the street have updated kitchens and yours is original, expect a downward adjustment.
• Unpermitted or DIY work. An addition or finished basement built without permits often can’t be counted toward official square footage — so you paid for space the appraisal won’t fully credit. Sloppy DIY work can actively lower the condition rating.
• Weak comparable sales. If few similar homes have sold nearby recently, or the closest sales are inferior, the appraiser has thinner support for a high number. This isn’t your fault, but it’s real — and it’s why good comps matter.
• Poor curb appeal and access. A cluttered yard, dead landscaping, or a system the appraiser physically can’t reach (a blocked electrical panel, a locked crawl space) all work against you.

How appraisers pick comps — and why Sioux Falls makes it tricky

Understanding how comps work tells you why some of this matters so much. Appraisers generally look for recently sold homes within about a mile, similar in age, condition, and bed-and-bath count, and ideally within roughly 10–20% of your square footage. They “bracket” — pulling some homes a little better than yours and some a little worse — then adjust each one to line up with your home.

Sioux Falls adds a wrinkle. In the fast-building suburbs and edges — Harrisburg, Tea, Brandon, and the south and southwest side — brand-new construction can make comps thin or inconsistent, and a home with a finished basement or an addition can get shortchanged if that space isn’t properly documented. In the established core neighborhoods, no two character homes are quite alike, so condition and updates swing the adjustments hard. Either way, the more evidence you hand the appraiser, the less they’re left to estimate.

How to prep your home for the appraisal

You can’t manufacture comps or reverse the age of your furnace overnight, but you can control how the home shows and how well-documented it is. Do these before the appraiser arrives:

• Knock out visible repairs. Fix the dripping faucet, the cracked outlet cover, the sticking door, the missing trim. Patch and touch up paint. These are cheap and directly counter the “deferred maintenance” read.
• Deep clean and declutter. A clean, orderly home reads as well-maintained and lets every feature show. It won’t add a line item, but it protects your condition rating.
• Handle curb appeal. Mow, trim, weed, add fresh mulch, power-wash the driveway, and freshen the front door. First impressions frame the whole walkthrough.
• Make everything accessible. Clear a path to the electrical panel, furnace, water heater, attic, and crawl space. Anything the appraiser can’t reach may get noted as a limitation — which never helps.
• Document your upgrades. Leave a one-page list of improvements with dates and rough costs: new roof 2023, furnace 2022, kitchen remodel, new windows. Include permits for any additions and warranties where you have them.
• Hand over comps. Print three or four recent, genuinely comparable sales that support your price. If you’re working with an agent, this is something we put together for you — and it’s one of the highest-leverage things at the appraisal.

If you’re a seller trying to decide how far to go, my guide to the cost to get your Sioux Falls home ready to sell covers where prep dollars are worth it. And if you want to understand how your list price and the appraisal relate in the first place, CMA vs. appraisal breaks down which one actually sets your number.

What a Sioux Falls appraisal costs — and what happens if it comes in low

On a typical Sioux Falls home, a single-family appraisal runs about $400 to $800 (the South Dakota average is roughly $725; a standard in-person appraisal often lands between $350 and $600). On a purchase, the buyer’s lender orders it and the buyer pays — usually folded into closing costs. Larger homes and rural acreages cost more, partly because comps are harder to find.

If the number comes in below the contract price, you have a few paths: the buyer covers the gap in cash, the parties renegotiate the price, or the deal ends on the appraisal contingency. There’s also the option to request a reconsideration of value when there are factual errors or stronger comps the appraiser missed. In today’s Sioux Falls market — a median sale price around $335,000 and homes still selling near 98.6% of list, but sitting longer than they did a couple of years ago — buyers have a bit more room to push back, which makes a low appraisal a live negotiation rather than an automatic dealbreaker.

When you do get to the finish line, a Dakota Title company in Sioux Falls handles settlement, and the South Dakota real estate transfer fee ($0.50 per $500 of the sale price) is paid by the seller. The cleaner and better-documented your home is going into the appraisal, the less likely any of those low-appraisal contingencies ever come into play.

Frequently Asked Questions

What hurts a home appraisal the most?

The biggest hits are deferred maintenance and dated big-ticket systems — an old roof, furnace, or electrical panel, plus tired kitchens and bathrooms. Weak or few comparable sales nearby, unpermitted additions the appraiser can’t count toward square footage, and obvious neglect like peeling paint or a cluttered yard also drag value down. Individually these are small; together they add up to real dollars in adjustments.

How much does a home appraisal cost in Sioux Falls?

A single-family appraisal in South Dakota generally runs $400 to $800, with the state average around $725; a standard in-person appraisal in a market like Sioux Falls often lands between $350 and $600. Larger homes, acreages, and rural or hard-to-comp properties cost more. On a purchase, the buyer’s lender orders the appraisal and the buyer pays for it, usually as part of closing costs.

Can I be present during the home appraisal?

Usually yes, though you don’t need to follow the appraiser room to room. It’s more useful to leave a short packet on the counter: a list of upgrades with dates and costs, permits for any additions, and three or four recent comparable sales that support your number. Then give the appraiser room and access to do the walkthrough without feeling crowded.

Does a messy or cluttered house lower the appraisal?

Clutter itself isn’t a line-item deduction, but it hurts you indirectly. A messy, poorly maintained home reads as deferred maintenance and can nudge an appraiser toward a lower condition rating, and it can hide features you’d want counted. A clean, accessible home with everything visible and reachable gives the appraiser the best possible read on condition.

What happens if my Sioux Falls home appraises low?

If the appraisal comes in under the contract price, the lender only lends on the lower value, so the buyer has to cover the gap in cash, the parties renegotiate the price, or the deal can fall through on the appraisal contingency. You can also request a reconsideration of value if there are factual errors or better comps. Prepping the home well and handing over strong comps up front is the cheapest way to avoid landing there.

Selling or buying in Sioux Falls?

Most of what hurts an appraisal is either fixable or worth knowing in advance. Handle the visible repairs, clean and open the home up, document your upgrades, and walk in with strong comps — that’s how you protect your value.

If you’re buying or selling in Sioux Falls or the surrounding area, I’m happy to walk you through how to prep for the appraisal and pull the comps that support your price. Reach out anytime at tyceortman@gmail.com.

About Tyce Ortman
Tyce Ortman is a real estate agent with eXp Realty serving the greater Sioux Falls, South Dakota area and the Madison community. He specializes in helping first-time home buyers and sellers, with a focus on pricing properties right and finding each client the perfect home. Connect with Tyce at tyceortman@gmail.com.