Tax assessments are publicly available and a great place to start when trying to assess a market or specific property. Knowing how to export public records, analyze, and apply an appraisal multiple can take your real estate investing to the next level. Below we will cover a quick scenario to cement the concept:

Example

Apply the average assessment multiple to your subject property’s most recent tax assessment.

Estimate Sale Price = Tax Assessment x Average “Comp” Assessment Multiple

Using the Assessment Multiple Method for Market Analysis

You can also determine a more broad tax assessment multiple for a community, however it is slightly more complicated as you must control for key variables such as property type, square footage, and town. This knowledge helps investors quickly submit offers and is especially useful when valuing unique properties.

Below is a table I put together for the Newton, Massachusetts single-family market.

As you can see, single-family homes in Newton have been selling for significantly more than their assessed value. This figure can be further refined by filtering public records for lot size, bedrooms/baths, or whatever criteria you desire.