assessed values are a great comparison and vary town to town. Many opportunities to purchase under assesment in today's market. CHeck out my website http://www.JeanSOLDMyHouse.com

check out my website http://www.JeanSOLDMyHouse.com
You can search proeprties for FREE, and compare sellin/asking price with assessment and wher ethey vary

The MOST important number to pay attention to is the Appraised Value as this is the number the banks and amortagge people use to justify the price of the home. As long as it appraises for at least what you agree on in the offer you are safe for a mortgage. The assessed value is for tax purposes and while it is an interesting number to look at, it can also change each year. If the assessed value is way over the agreed upon offer price, you might want to review it more carefully before you go ahead. My property assessment for example was high and I went to the town to request a review of the assessment. Turns out I was right and they will lower the assessment. Assessments are usually based on the number of sg ft and the amenities in the house such as bedrooms, bathrooms, fireplaces, etc. An assessment is not an Appraisal. Appraisals use recent comperables as the priciple basis for market value in addition to other intrinsic values.

Assessed values really never affected pricing on the Cape until this past year. Now most homes, depending on location, are selling at or below the Town's assessed values. This isn't to say that you shouldn't pay more for a property than the assessed value, as it is now a factor, but this does depend on the upgrades, location & overall condition of the property. Ask your local REALTOR to help you determining the homes value by preparing a market conditions report for you.
I do have a client who purchased a property in Barnstable Village in 2007 for $365,000. The assessed value on the property for 2008 was $394,000. The new 2009 assessed value is $352,000 & the appraisal they just received from the Bank on a re-finance was over $400,000! Marie Souza, Owner Broker, Cape Cod Real Estate Services

Your Cocker Spaniel is adorable! To answer your question regarding assessed values with respect to selling prices, I have looked up all of the sales in Cummaquid over the last 6 months in our Multiple Listing Data base. Out of 6 homes, half sold for more than assessed value and the other half for less. Assessed value has nothing to do with market price and appraised value. As Walt said, assessed value is determined by the towns to collect revenue to cover the town's expenses that year. A person is not crazy for paying more than assessed value in Cummaquid since half of the buyers within the last 6 months did.

Price per sq. ft. is more important. However, the figure you use per sq. ft. be it $100/sq. ft., $150/sq. ft, $200/sq. ft., etc... has to be accurate. The quality of the construction and upgrades determine the number to use when making those types of adjustments. Appraisers are best equiped to perform those types of analyses. Again, the number of sales in a neighborhood has nothing to do with assessed values, what people paid either. If you have any other questions, I will gladly answer them.

Tatiana Daniels

I believe you are mixing up several terms; assessed value, appraised value, and market value. These on rare occasions are the same but each has its own meaning to the buyer. The assessed value is used by the town to determine the yearly taxes on the property. A buyer can use this information to determine if the house is somewhat of a bargain or if its listed value is excessive. However, a buyer should not base any decision on the assessed value alone as it may not have changed in many years depending on the towns ability to review property values on a regular basis. The only real value to the buyer is to let them know what the current taxes are based on. The appraised value is critical to the home buying process as the bank usually requires an appraisal prior to granting a mortgage. It is rarely stated in the description of the property unless the buyer has paid for an independent appraisal and provided it to the listing agent. If an appraisal comes in lowere than the offered price on the property it is possible that the bank may not lend the full offered value of the property and the buyer will have to make up the difference. Finally, the market value. This value is the actual selling price of the home. A real estate agent can help to predetermine this market value by doing a comparable market analysis of the property during the listing process to help the seller determine the listing price. It is based on all of the same conditions as an appraisal but without the professional aspects. Real estate agents are not appraisers. In general a neighborhoods assessed value can be limited over a period of time by property sales in that neighborhood. If there have not been a lot of sales than the town can not use these as a basis for assessing taxes and must use other methods. I see a lot of properties for sale where the description states that the the property is significantly below assessed value and I advise my clients not to put too much stock in these comments.

The question is how do you value a house and assessed value is irrelevant. You need to look at size and quality of the house, and value of the lot. With single family homes you have 2 assets: the land and the house so you need to value them separate and then add together for total value.
You also want to look at substitutes: for instance if the house is a 4 bedroom, look at other 4 bedrooms in the direct neighborhood. Look at market conditions in Barnstable and Cummaquid. You can do this a bunch of ways, one way i suggest is looking at absorption rates (i.e. what is the supply and demand there).

Good luck!

Hi Steve,

A town's assessed value can vary from an independent appraisal company. I've seen sales both above and below a town's assessed value. Sometimes, if the house hasn't sold in 20-30 years the assessment is a bit low. In this market, we have been recommending to our client to obtain an independent appraisal for the home's value. Values will vary based on many factors including but not limited to condition of home, square footage, and neighborhood.