Many buyers are operating under the misconception that a home’s buying price needs to be just above its tax assessed value. In other words, they understand that tax assessed is the identical thing as “what a home is appraised.” This is definitely not the case, especially here in Vancouver real estate, but just this month I’ve encountered no less than three potential buyers who refused to offer anything higher than the tax assessment value on homes they truly loved. Due to this error, real estate agents have started to include phrases like “price is below the assessed value” in their listings. As a result of these statements, houses that are priced lower than the assessed value are viewed as bargains. Unluckily, this might not always be accurate. The assessed value of a home is a price that is determined by a tax official (British Columbia utilizes a provincial crown company known as BC Assessment) in order to calculate taxes. As soon as this assessment is made, the entity responsible for taxation, including the City of Vancouver, then sets its tax rates according to the assessment.
Fair market value means the price that an intelligent, free-thinking, and agreeable person would consider paying to the person who owns the property, who is not required to sell the house if he or she does not want to. You can see this calculation at work with any Vancouver condo. Before putting a house up for sale, a real estate representative is going to find several houses that are similar to that of the seller that have sold in the past few months. Factoring in these comparisons, the representative will then advise the owner on what the price of the house should be. When a buyer and seller come to a purchase price, this determines the fair market value of the house. This illustrates the reasons why you want to compare similar houses’ selling prices before letting slip to the owner what you’ll pay. This will ensure you know that the house is priced accurately.