As of October 9, 2019, select home sales of $400,000 and under no longer required an appraisal. Before this date, that only applied to sales of $250,000 and under. Last year, federal regulators proposed increasing the appraisal threshold for the first time in 25 years. Various government agencies proposed to increase the appraisal requirement from $250,000 to $400,000, citing the home price appreciation that's taken place since the last increase in 1994. Last month, the agencies all approved the rule and it was then published in the Federal Register.