It appears that appraisals are becoming a drag on home sales. Appraisers are caught between the proverbial "rock and a hard place". How do you give a "fair" appraisal for a nice home in a neighborhood with foreclosed homes being the most recent sales?? In a normal market this was not a problem because there was always other comparable sales in the subdivision. Now, the appraiser may have no "regular" comps to go with. And the foreclosures are sure to be low priced. If a normal seller finds a buyer, it may be impossible to get a high enough appraisal to clear the lender. Many sales are falling apart for this very reason. Just more bad news for regular sellers! How do you compete with foreclosed homes. If you are not in foreclosure, how can you get a "fair" appraisal on your home?? The appraiser fears loosing his creditability and very job if he goes too high on any home, yet the seller cannot compete with the price of foreclosed homes. I have no answer but something is needed or "good" homes are going to linger on the market or sell at unfair prices.