• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Accessibility Statement

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on YouTubeRSS Feed

Kimberly Howell Properties

San Antonio Real Estate

office@kimberlyhowell.com
(210) 493-6888
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • Agents
  • Buyers
    • Neighborhoods
    • Relocation Information
  • Sellers
  • Listings
    • Available Rentals
    • Homes for Sale
    • McNair Custom Homes
    • Open Houses
  • Contact
  • Rental SearchHomes for Rent
  • REALTORS®Find an Agent
  • McNair Custom HomesNew Construction
  • Property SearchHomes for Sale
You are here: Home / Archives for assessment

assessment

Appraisals, Assessments, and Fair Market Value

July 24, 2012 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Number Three

The words appraisals, assessments, and fair market value all relate to one of the most common questions in San Antonio real estate – “what is my home worth?“

These three terms often get jumbled up and misused, which can lead to a lot of confusion over what the value of a home is. It becomes even trickier as the word “appraisal” gets tossed around a lot to mean a variety of different things. This careless misuse of these words can really complicate the issue of pricing a home for sale, so let’s take a look at the three terms and how they relate to real estate and the value of your home.

Appraisals

We’ve discussed appraisals recently, including a post about appraisals and why you need one and some of the positive and negative sides to appraisals. Appraisals are part of the mortgage process (and you should get one for yourself, even if you’re a cash buyer) – the lender uses the appraisal report to help underwrite the loan. The lender wants to know that an appraised value is equal to or more than the price you have agreed to pay for the home.

Appraisals are performed by licensed appraisers who receive a lot of training. Since the housing market crash, appraisers have become rather tight with their valuations, which can be quite daunting for both home buyers and sellers (lenders will not loan more than the amount of the appraisal).

Assessments (Tax Assessed Value)

I often hear tax assessed values called appraisals. It’s kind of a tricky set of words. The office that handles them is called the Appraisal District, but for the purpose of clear definition, these should not be confused with appraisals. Tax assessed values are used by your local county to assess the amount of tax you owe on your property.

These assessments are not a good indication of value – although they can be dead on at times. With Texas being a non-disclosure state (final sold price of a home is not disclosed publicly), these tax assessed values can vary widely. There are cases where people protested their taxes and cases where the neighbor didn’t, creating disparity in taxable values on properties that may be very similar. Basing your listing price or (if you’re a buyer) your offer price on these numbers is not a good idea. Tax assessed values are good to periodically check, to be sure your property taxes are not increasing too much (if they are, you can protest your taxes here in Texas).

Fair Market Value

Fair market value is a valuation of your home based on current market trends and the actual physical value of your home. While appraisals are rather scientific in nature, fair market value is part science and part art. Your real estate agent takes into account all the information and knowledge they have on your neighborhood and your home and performs a CMA (comparable market analysis) to determine fair market value. Based on current sales trends and the details of your home, your agent will give you a price to list your home at (based on the fair market value).

As we’ve seen in recent years, the price of a home can change and move both up and down. A home purchased today may sell for more, less, or the same in the future – this future price is its fair market value at that moment in time. Even when a fair market value is set for your home, you may find that you still need to adjust the price of your home in order for it to sell.

You may also want to read Dave Taylor’s article on cost versus market price in homes sale.

image courtesy of Studio Mohawk

Filed Under: Sell Your Home Tagged With: appraisal, assessment, property tax, fair market value

Primary Sidebar

Open Floorplan

Is An Open Floorplan The Right Style For You?

Open floorplan living is often billed as the perfect floor plan, bringing family together in a single room where cooking, conversation and the screen share the same space. It has been a popular feature of a … [Read More...] about Is An Open Floorplan The Right Style For You?

New Kitchen

Nine Mistakes To Avoid With A New Kitchen

No room carries more influence with a buyer than the kitchen because it’s where the everyone gathers and many memories are made. The kitchen can represent up to 20% of the entire value of a property, so it’s … [Read More...] about Nine Mistakes To Avoid With A New Kitchen

House Fire Safety

9 Ways To Avoid Housefires

A fire in your home can happen at any time of the year, but with colder months upon us it’s easy to see how the danger increases with the setting of wood-burning heaters and the use of candles to create a cozy … [Read More...] about 9 Ways To Avoid Housefires

Call A Plumber

Is It Time To Call A Plumber?

As a homeowner, you’ll inevitably have to call in a Sydney plumber to deal with plumbing problems at some stage. It’s one of the ‘pleasures’ of owning property! Choosing the right contractor can feel a little … [Read More...] about Is It Time To Call A Plumber?

First Time Homebuyer

8 Tips For First Time Homebuyers

If it's your first time buying homes for sale, it can be quite intimidating – you’ve got to deal with agents, sellers, rival buyers, banks, and title companies. And it’s not always clear what role each of them … [Read More...] about 8 Tips For First Time Homebuyers

Search Our Site

Real Estate Topics

  • Buying a Home
  • Homeowner Tips
  • KHP News
  • Local Events
  • Local Laws
  • Miscellaneous
  • Mortgages and Financing
  • Open Houses
  • Real Estate
  • Real Estate Market
  • Renters and Landlords
  • San Antonio Places
  • Sell Your Home
  • Technology
Our real estate agents can help you with properties anywhere in Texas. If you need assistance finding agents in other parts of the country, please contact us.

Search Homes

Explore Cities

  • Alamo Heights 45 Listings
  • Bandera 404 Listings
  • Blanco 180 Listings
  • Boerne 661 Listings
  • Bulverde 388 Listings
  • Canyon Lake 415 Listings
  • Castle Hills 23 Listings
  • Castroville 92 Listings
  • Cibolo 415 Listings
  • Comfort 56 Listings
  • Converse 631 Listings
  • Fair Oaks Ranch 75 Listings
  • Floresville 271 Listings
  • Garden Ridge 14 Listings
  • Helotes 204 Listings
  • Hill Country Village 3 Listings
  • La Vernia 188 Listings
  • Lakehills 132 Listings
  • Leon Valley 29 Listings
  • Live Oak 71 Listings
  • Mico 121 Listings
  • New Braunfels 1534 Listings
  • Olmos Park 8 Listings
  • San Antonio 10626 Listings
  • Schertz 329 Listings
  • Seguin 676 Listings
  • Selma 69 Listings
  • Shavano Park 10 Listings
  • Spring Branch 430 Listings
  • Terrell Hills 37 Listings
  • Universal City 75 Listings
  • Windcrest 36 Listings
  • Hollywood Pk 3 Listings

Stay up to date with the latest from Kimberly Howell Properties.

San Antonio real estate and property information provided by Kimberly Howell Properties. Kimberly Howell Properties does not assume any liability or responsibility for the operation or content of any of the linked resources, nor for any of the interpretations, comments, graphics, or opinions contained therein. All information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

KJH Properties, Inc. is a licensed real estate brokerage in the State of Texas, Equal Opportunity Employer, and supporter of the Fair Housing Act.

TREC Information About Brokerage Services | TREC Consumer Protection Notice | Privacy Policy

All content © 2009-2020 Kimberly Howell Properties, unless otherwise noted.