Throughout the Midwest, appraisals in April were, on average, 1.9% lower than what home owners expected. That means on an average home price of $236,400, appraisers would only appraise the home for $232,000, or by about $4,400 less. Worse, the gap between appraiser and home owner views on price is spreading wider, according to the latest National Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index. April marks the fifth consecutive month that the gap between price opinions has widened. In March, homeowners estimated their home prices were 1.77% higher than what appraisers said they were worth.

The discrepancy is more than just a disagreement: the appraisal can impact how much money a buyer needs to bring to closing, or the equity that is available to the homeowner on a refinance loan. The recent study also showed that while appraised values were lower than expected in the Midwest and East, they were higher than expected in the West.