Definition of "Fair market value"

The definition of Fair Market Value in the real estate business is the highest amount that could be received on the sale of a property when there are a willing buyer and a willing seller. But that seems kind of vague, right?

Let’s give Fair Market Value some context:

Truth is whenever a home seller says “I want to sell my house!”, both the home seller and the real estate agent wants to sell the property for the highest price they can, right? However, the home buyer, obviously, wants to buy the house for the lowest price he/she can. So, an “arm wrestling match” regarding the value of the property begins. At the end of that negotiation, when the home seller and the home buyer agree on a price, we have the Fair Market Value of that estate.

Things you should be on the lookout to define a precise Fair Market Value of a property:

- How is the market right now? Do a Comparative Market Analysis.

- Is the house in good conditions? Have a professional Appraisal of the property done.

- How much would it cost to build a new one just like yours? Try the Replacement Cost Approach.

RealEstateAgent.com ADVICE:

Now that you’ve done your homework regarding Fair Market Value the choice is yours: you can either access our Real Estate Agent Directory and search our amazing database for that trustworthy real estate agent that will help you make your house sell, or you can keep searching for other terms on our Real Estate Glossary box below. Good luck!

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Provision in a lease agreement in which the lessee is given the right to buy the property at the end of lease term. In many cases, the option price is attractive to encourage acquisition. ...

Also known as “cap rate” or “income yield”, Capitalization Rate is a useful way to compute the rate of return on a real estate investment. It is commonly used in the ...

A proposal to buy property at a specified price. The seller of the property has the options of accepting the offer, rejecting it, or making a counteroffer. For example, John signs a listing ...

An individual's possessions at his residences, such as furniture. A listing of items and their costs is recommended to obtain proper insurance coverage and as support for insurance ...

The real and personal assets of a person at the date of death. The distribution of the assets to the heirs depends on the provision of the will. If no will exists, the distribution is based ...

model depicting on paper what a structure physically looks like. The dimensions are draw on a proportionate basis to the real thing. An example is a scale of an existing or proposed office ...

Small one story frame house or cottage. ...

Relationship between individuals or entities whereby rights given to one are returned in kind to the other. An example is where one person has the right to use facilities of another with ...

Unregistered stock or bond that pays the holder dividends (if stock) or interest (if bonds) as well as the selling price when sold (if stock) or principal (if bonds are held to maturity). ...

Popular Real Estate Questions