Investor Encyclopedia

Assessment vs Market Value

Assessment vs Market Value: a practical Canadian real estate investor guide to definition, deal math, underwriting use, common traps, and Realist.ca implementation.

Definition

Assessment value is used for property tax allocation. Market value is what a buyer would likely pay today.

Example

In underwriting, tag assessment vs market value beside the exact source input and rerun the model when that input changes. The point is not a pretty metric; it is a better buy, hold, refinance, or walk decision.

Why It Matters

assessment vs market value can change after-tax proceeds, legal risk, carrying cost, and closing certainty. Ignoring it can turn a good spreadsheet into a bad real deal.

Investor Interpretation

Use it to kill bad deals quickly. If the back-of-envelope version does not survive conservative assumptions, do not spend five hours making it look alive.

Realist Tie-In

Realist.ca can make assessment vs market value searchable as an encyclopedia entry, link it to property underwriting, and show it beside listings, saved analyses, market pages, and investor lead magnets.