There are numerous misconceptions about what appraisers do and how appraisers work.

Another of these is that appraisers "drive" real estate prices.  Here is an example of the misconception... If a home is really worth $400,000, but an appraiser says it is worth $450,000... then a buyer will come along and pay $450,000 for it based on the appraisal.  A few weeks or months later, the house across the street is appraised for $500,000 and magically a buyer appears willing to pay $500,000 for it.  This happens over and over again in this fantasy example, until all the homes in the neighborhood double or triple in value.

Appraisers estimate market value by researching and analyzing actions of buyers and sellers in the marketplace, and credible opinions are essential to a healthy real estate market.

It really doesn't happen this way.  If appraisers actually did "drive" values in this manner, we could have easily appraised our way out of our nation's recent housing slump.