Home Value & Pricing · Straight answer from Kathleen
What is the difference between market value and assessed value?
Assessed value is the number your town uses to calculate property taxes, while market value is what an informed buyer would actually pay for your home today. They are two different numbers for two different purposes, and the assessed value does not set your listing or offer price.
Assessors set assessed value through a formula applied across the town, so it tends to lag the market and can sit above or below what homes really sell for. Towns update assessments over time, but no formula can see the condition, updates, or views that a real buyer walks in and notices.
Market value is the price a ready, willing buyer would pay right now, built from recent sold comparables, active competition, and the specifics of your home. That is the number that matters for listing, offering, and negotiating, and it can move independently of the assessed value.
The assessed value still matters in one important way: it drives your property tax bill. Knowing both numbers, and what each one means for taxes and pricing, keeps them from getting confused at exactly the moment it counts.
Kathleen, a Realtor® with eXp Realty, can pull both the assessed value and the market value picture for any North Shore address and explain what they mean for your taxes and your pricing goals.
On the North Shore
On the North Shore, assessed values vary town by town in how closely they track the market. In some towns assessments lag noticeably, which can be a surprise at tax time, so it pays to know where your town stands and how your own home compares.
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