Market Value And Appraised Value

Some people believe that the market value of your house is identical to the appraised value. Just like a home inspector is not the same as an appraiser, the same is true for market value and appraisal value. They are not the same.

Appraisal

An appraiser is a certified and qualified professional who, using their opinion, judgment and experience, performs a thorough and detailed examination of your home to come to their conclusion as to the actual monetary worth of your property.

To carry out the appraisal and come to a fair price, the appraiser will look at the house and its location, weighing up specific criterion that can include location, proximity to desirable schools, condition of the home and recent sales prices of similar properties.

The appraised value that you are left with, after the appraisers report, is a certified appraisers opinion of the worth of a home at an agreed point in time. Appraisals can be important in obtaining a loan application from a lender. A lender is more likely to offer a loan to a person who can produce a document showing the true worth of their prospective property. A typical appraisal will cost around $300.

Market Value

Market value is similar to an appraisal, but a certified house appraiser does not carry it out. The market value refers to how much your house is worth, compared to similar houses, in and around the area you are living in. In effect the market value is the price that the house would bring if it were sold a given point in time.

Performing a comparative market analysis of the market and the houses listed in the multiple listings arrives at the market value. A comparative market analysis is therefore, in reality, an informal estimate of your property's market value, based on sales of equivalent properties, performed by a realtor or broker.