The appearance of the Grinch is generally limited to a Yuletide phenomenon – but some local real estate agents are discovering that mean ol’ mister may have a distant cousin more acclimated to the warmer months: The appraiser.

But unlike Dr. Suess’s creation, local appraisers don’t take much delight in being homewreckers. But as local markets begin to heat up, they find themselves squeezed between anxious buyers and sellers eager to complete a deal in a competitive marketplace, and tightfisted lenders eyeing every report showing rising values with a beady eye.

With inventory tight and buyers finally emerging from their bunkers, multiple bids have become commonplace in many markets around Boston. Online brokerage Redfin claims that 54 percent of its buyers’ offers have been in competition with others.

“I’ve personally had four or five if not six [multiple bids],” said Coldwell Banker’s Gail Roberts, one of the top listing agents in Cambridge. “The inventory has been so low that there are all these people out there waiting.”

But as the spring market heats up and drives bids over the asking price, appraisers are still stuck comparing current deals with last winter’s anemic numbers. The latest Case-Shiller report, which has data through February, shows Boston-area prices down about 2.4 percent year-over-year. Figures provided by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman’s, show median prices for single family homes down 3.7 percent statewide in the first quarter.

That means appraisers’ estimates lately are often coming in well below the agreed-upon price, potentially spiking the deal. Banks won’t loan more than they think a home is worth – and they rely on the appraiser’s expert eye to determine that value. When a discrepancy arises between an appraiser’s report and the agreed-upon price, it’s up to the buyer and seller to find a new way to close the deal and make up any shortcomings – if one can be found.

Soundly Beaten

“When [our buyers] lose, we’re getting soundly beaten, by $60,000 or $70,000 dollars. It can be problematic to get that to appraise, and then the problem is, who’s going to carry that cost?” said Redfin area manager Alex Coon. “Is the seller, who already had six bids on the property, going to say ‘I’ll drop my price?’ Or is it more likely they’ll say, ‘Hey, I got five other people willing to try and make up that difference.’”

“There’s certainly some real problems there for an appraiser trying to recognize the results of these bidding wars,” agreed Steve Sousa, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers.

An experienced agent can help, said Sousa, by providing additional info to the appraiser about offers and pending sales. “But you’ve got to recognize, with Case-Shiller saying house prices are still coming down, there’s real skepticism on the part of lenders, particularly the national investors,” said Sousa.

Rich Goulet, president of The Appraisers Group in Belmont, said he’s heard many questions and complaints from agents and appraisers about the issue.

“I’ve done a number of presentations for Cambridge brokers in the last month or two, and it is a concern,” he said. “The problem that we have is – and we had it in the 80s and the 90s, when we had big run-ups in value – you’re always looking over your shoulder with appraisals. Because all the information you get is historical. You’re not looking at stuff down the road.”

Though Goulet said he encourages his appraisers to absorb as much information as they can about the current market and other offers on a property, he said banks are “scrutinizing the appraisal reports like they never looked at them before. Before, appraisals were a necessary nuisance, the lenders really kind of ignored them – ‘oh, the numbers are good? We’re fine.’ Now, everybody’s second-guessing the appraiser.”

Cash Still King

With lenders still being extremely strict about what sales they will accept for comparison, a given property might have only two or three other comparable sales to measure against, hamstringing the appraiser.

Brokers and appraisers agree that as the market gets into full swing over the next few months and some now-pending sales are completed and reflected in the record, the problem should ease. But in the meantime, there has proven to be one universal solvent for those deals blocked by a low appraisal: Cash.

“I had a sale a while ago – I said to [the buyers], ‘look, I’d prefer you to get this for under $1.8 million. But the fact is, you’re going to have to get this for $1.85, and that’s high, and it won’t be comped,” said Roberts. “But they were putting a huge amount of cash down and it didn’t matter.”

Figures provided by The Warren Group show that cash sales remain a much higher proportion of the market than historic norms. More than 25 percent of single-family sales, and 44 percent of condo sales, were cash sales in the first quarter.

With many buyers having stayed on the sidelines for years waiting for the market to recover, and investors still out in droves trying to scoop up multi-family and lower-end properties, lucky sellers may be able to pick and choose among flush buyers to ensure a deal closes – regardless of appraiser opinions.