One House, Five ‘Values’ — Which One Is Right?

Why the Property Appraiser, Zillow, an appraisal and the actual market may all give you different answers.

Pull up a house online and things can get confusing quickly. The Property Appraiser shows one value. Zillow or another real estate website shows another. The seller is asking something different. Your REALTOR® may give you yet another number. Then, if you’re financing the purchase, an appraiser gets involved too. So who’s right? Potentially, all of them. Because despite all being called some version of “value,” they aren’t necessarily measuring the same thing.

The Property Appraiser: Actually THREE Different Values

Let’s start locally. If you look up a Pinellas County property through the Property Appraiser’s website or receive your annual TRIM notice, you’ll encounter three different values:

Just / Market Value

This is the Property Appraiser’s estimate of the property’s market worth as of January 1, based on market information including comparable sales and cost data.

Assessed Value

This starts with Just/Market Value but takes statutory assessment limitations into account. For qualifying homesteaded property, Florida’s Save Our Homes provision generally limits annual increases in assessed value to 3% or the change in CPI, whichever is lower. Non-homestead property is generally subject to a 10% assessment limitation. That’s why someone who has owned and homesteaded a property for years can have an assessed value considerably below its current market value.

Taxable Value

Finally, eligible exemptions are deducted from assessed value to arrive at taxable value. This is the value to which applicable taxing authorities’ millage rates are applied. So even on one government website, you may see three different numbers for the same house.

And none should automatically be interpreted as: “This is what the house should sell for today.”

Zillow & Other Online Estimates: The Algorithm’s Value

Now let’s open another browser tab. Zillow has its Zestimate, and other real estate websites have their own automated valuation models, commonly called AVMs. These computer-generated estimates use available property and market data to estimate value. They’re useful. They’re also one data point, not a verdict. An algorithm doesn’t walk through the front door. It may have difficulty fully accounting for why two homes that look nearly identical on paper command very different prices because of renovations, condition, lot placement, waterfront or golf-course views, flood considerations, floor plan, deferred maintenance or simply how the property feels compared with its competition.

List Price: What the Seller Is Asking

Here’s another number that gets mistaken for value. The list price is what the seller is asking. It isn’t proof of what the property is worth. A home can be strategically priced, aggressively priced, optimistically priced or simply overpriced. Ultimately, the market gets a vote.

REALTOR® Market Analysis: What Is Happening RIGHT NOW?

When I’m helping a buyer or seller determine current market value, I’m looking at the property through a different lens. What have the most relevant comparable properties actually sold for? What’s competing with this house today? What’s pending? How long did similar homes take to sell? Were there price reductions? Then we start comparing the things that don’t fit neatly into an algorithm: condition, renovations, location, lot, view, flood zone, square footage, layout, major systems, amenities and other features buyers are currently valuing. And perhaps most importantly: What are buyers actually responding to in this market? That’s also why simply multiplying square footage by an average price per square foot can produce a pretty questionable answer. Context matters.

Appraised Value: The Lender Gets a Number, Too

If financing is involved, the lender will generally order an appraisal. A licensed appraiser independently analyzes the property and relevant market information to develop an opinion of value for the lender. And yes, that value can differ from the Property Appraiser’s Just/Market Value, an online estimate, the list price, the REALTOR®’s market analysis and even the agreed-upon contract price.

Welcome to real estate.

“But Zillow Says We’re Overpaying…”

I completely understand why buyers get hung up here. You’re about to make one of the largest purchases of your life. You absolutely should research it. But let’s say a home is listed for $525,000 and an online estimate says $495,000. That doesn’t automatically mean the seller is overpriced. It doesn’t mean your agent missed something. And it certainly doesn’t automatically mean you’re about to “overpay” by $30,000. It means we have another piece of information to investigate.

The better question is: What does the current market evidence say THIS particular property is worth?

Let’s look at the best comparable sales. Let’s compare condition, location, lot, updates and meaningful differences. Let’s look at current competition and what’s going under contract. Let’s understand whether other buyers are responding to the property. Then we make an informed decision. Because an online estimate is information. It isn’t automatically negotiation leverage simply because it’s the lowest number you found on the internet. And sellers don’t get a free pass either. If an online estimate says your house is worth $700,000 but the best comparable properties are selling around $625,000, buyers aren’t obligated to agree with the algorithm just because you like that number better.

So…What IS Your House Worth?

There isn’t one magical database containing the indisputable value of every house. Just/Market Value. Assessed Value. Taxable Value. Online estimate. List price. REALTOR® market analysis. Appraised value. Contract price. Each number has a different purpose and tells us something. The skill is understanding what the number you’re looking at actually represents and how much weight it deserves in the decision you’re trying to make.

So the next time you’re surfing homes online and three websites give you three different values for the same address, don’t panic. You didn’t break the internet.

You just discovered why determining real estate value still requires more than typing an address into a search bar.