Fair market value is a legal term defined by the courts and state statute as the purchase price that a property would bring on the open market, given prudent, knowledgeable, and willing buyers and sellers. Fair market value is the standard by which the fairness of all assessments is judged.
Buyers and sellers determine the fair market value of real estate. The appraiser or assessor analyzes real estate transactions that occur within a community and determines the factors that led to the final sale prices. These analyses are then used to estimate the market values of all properties in a community. Some of the typical factors used by an appraiser in estimating market values include location, condition, age, size, and quality of improvements.