What is assessed value
on a New Jersey home?

Assessed value is the value a town's tax assessor puts on a property to work out its property tax. New Jersey's property tax is based on the value of each owner's property. Towns set each property's value on October 1, and that value is used for the next tax year.

The assessor aims for what New Jersey's Division of Taxation calls true value. That is the price a property would sell for in a fair sale, in the assessor's judgment. An assessor may value a home by comparing similar sales in the town, by what it would cost to replace the building, or by the income the property produces. When a town's assessments no longer match true value, the town may revalue every property so each one is assessed at its true value.

For example, say a buyer in Gloucester County sees that a home's assessed value on the tax record is well below its asking price. The two numbers measure different things: one is the town's figure for taxes, the other is what the seller is asking. The buyer can check with the tax assessor's office how that town's assessments compare with what homes sell for now, and ask their agent what similar homes nearby are worth today.

Questions about how a home was assessed go to the town's tax assessor, and questions about appealing an assessment go to your county board of taxation. Your agent can walk you through how a home's asking price compares with similar homes nearby.