Let’s say a buyer is interested in a home listed at $420,000. The online valuation determines the house is worth $440,000. Based on that estimate, the buyer offers the asking price. When a professional appraisal comes in at $400,000, and the existing tax records assess the home at $300,000, the buyer wonders why the values are so different, and if he overpaid. The house was listed at $420,000 because at that price, the home would sell in a reasonable amount of time. Why wouldn’t the appraised value be whatever a buyer was willing to pay? The fact that they paid $420,000 doesn’t mean that is the true value of the home. Certain factors may weigh in (undesirable businesses located near the property, for example). Online valuations can’t take into consideration the condition of the property, or the qualities of the neighborhood. Since an assessed home value is for taxing purposes only, it can be much more or much less than the market value. Ideally, they should be the same, but usually they aren’t. It’s based on a percentage of the appraised value determined by a professional. From legal descriptions to onsite inspections to comparable home-selling prices, the assessor will take all these items into consideration when appraising a home. Location near industry, high traffic, or potential development will also affect the appraisal.
A CRITICAL PART OF SELLING YOUR HOME FOR MORE IS YOU
We’ve seen that there’s no calculable certainty in setting the value of a home. There can be wide differences between the seller’s assessed price, the asking or listing (market price value), and the price at which the home sells (sale price). A market in which homes sell within six months of listing is considered balanced or neutral, meaning enough homeowners are
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