Hoosier AI: Fair Value, Market Value, Fair Market Value

Fair Value, Market Value, Fair Market Value was developed because words can have more than one meaning. Even the simple term market value can have a different meaning to a real estate appraiser than it does to a business appraiser, an accountant, or an attorney. Among real estate appraisers, there can be differences of opinion as to the proper basis of a valuation for a property tax assessment, a condemnation action, or a financial report. The laws are not generally written by appraisers, and the various codes and case law can be inconsistent and hard to interpret. The USPAP standards require that an appraiser not only state the type and definition of value, but also “include any comments needed to clearly indicate to the intended users how the definition is being applied.”