An appraisal is a professional appraiser’s opinion of value. The preparation of an appraisal involves research into appropriate market areas; the assembly and analysis of information pertinent to a property; and the knowledge, experience, and professional judgment of the appraiser. Appraisals may be required for any type of property and the reasons for performing a real property appraisal are just as varied.
The broker price opinion (BPO) is a popular way of estimating the value of a property. It is generally used by financial institutions in situations when it’s believed the expense and delay of an appraisal is unnecessary.
Automated valuation model (AVM) is the name given to a service that can provide real estate property valuations using mathematical modeling combined with a database. Most AVMs calculate a property’s value at a specific point in time by analyzing values of comparable properties.