When a home doesn't appraise for the agreed sale price, the buyer's lender won't finance the loan amount based on the higher contract price — they'll only lend based on the lower appraised value, which creates a gap that has to be resolved for the sale to close as originally structured. As the seller, you have a few options, and the outcome depends partly on what was negotiated in the original contract. One option is lowering the sale price to match the appraised value, which resolves the gap but means accepting less than originally agreed. Another is asking the buyer to cover the difference in cash if they're willing and able to, which keeps the sale price intact but shifts the shortfall onto the buyer. If the buyer included appraisal gap coverage in their original offer, this may already be addressed by the contract terms rather than requiring new negotiation. You can also challenge the appraisal by providing the appraiser or lender with additional comparable sales that support the original price, though this doesn't always succeed and depends on whether genuinely comparable, defensible comps exist. If none of these options resolve the gap and the buyer has an appraisal contingency, they may have the right to terminate the contract and recover their earnest money, putting the property back on the market. If a low appraisal becomes a pattern with multiple buyers, it's worth taking seriously as a signal that the original list price may have been set too aggressively relative to what comparable sales actually support, even if buyer demand initially suggested otherwise. Revisiting pricing strategy with your agent, informed by the appraisal data itself, is often more productive than continuing to market at a price the appraisals aren't supporting.