WASHINGTON – The housing market is still pretty fragile and one factor is home appraisals.

Eldad Moraru of Long and Foster says an appraisal that comes in lower than the sales price can throw everything off since buyers and sellers have been wheeling and dealing ad nauseum.

The National Association of Realtors says a third of agents reported low appraisals delaying or killing contracts this summer. That’s way up from a year ago.

How can you avoid this problem? Experts say make sure you’ve looked at comparable sales in the neighborhood and that you’re priced accordingly.

Moraru says agents should give the appraiser all the relevant info on their home upfront– since it’s very difficult to get an appraiser to change his price.

“You don’t have to be that far off from the number to create a real issue for the buyers and sellers,” he says.

WTOP’s Darci Marchese contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.

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