Hi Ken-

The address is 17 Saffron Dr., Worcester, MA

Hello- If you provide an actual street address, I may be able to help a bit. Give you a quick valuation.
To answer the other question, assessed values from the town often times vary considerably from the true market value an appraiser, or a good realtor, would give it.

Thanks, and good luck,

Ken L.

An appraiser's and a real estate agent's value is good when they are comparable to each other to ensure that a bank would finance a loan for a buyer buying a home. Both values would be based on the comparable homes sold in the area around the home that is being bought, except that an appraiser may go a bit deeper in more details and do adjustments for certain things (bedrooms, size of home, type of home, age, etc).

A realtor would basically take some of those things into consideration as well, but is not a certified appraiser, thus giving an "estimated value" rather than a more certain value to sell or buy a home. That is the main difference, but in the end, if you are getting financed through a bank, once the Purchase and Sales Agreement is signed between both buyer and seller, the bank will send out an appraiser to measure the property, look at its condition, and compare it to other comparable homes that have sold in that same area and town/city.

Then that report goes back to the bank and gets reviewed by the underwriter of the loan. If the appraised value is at the purchase price or higher, then the bank will proceed with giving the buyer a loan. If it comes in lower than the purchase price, then you have to make a decision to discuss it with the seller and see if they'll lower their price or try for a second appraisal to verify the first, or you could pull out altogether.

Let me know if I can be of any further service to you in answering any of your questions or helping you through the process of finding a home.

Angela Dolber
Prudential Prime Properties
508-826-8553
angela@pruprimehomes.com

Elizabeth,

Is there usually a significant difference between an appraisal value and market value? And if there is a difference, why?

Thanks for your help!

Do you mean appraisal or market value? An appraisal is a paid professional opinion by a licensed Appraiser.
Market Value is an opinion based on current real estate activity in the area of the house.

If you were inquiring about market value and you'd like I could do a free CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) for you. Just click the link to my website below and click the Contact Me link. Please include your email address for me to send it to you when I'm done.