Joel DyckReal Broker SK Ltd.
Saskatoon · From the topic map

What is the difference between a home valuation and an appraisal?

A valuation is a REALTOR®'s opinion of market value from comparable sales, offered free and used to set a list price. An appraisal is a formal report from a member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada, ordered and paid for by a lender or a court, and it carries legal weight.

They also answer slightly different questions. A valuation asks what a motivated buyer would pay in current conditions with proper marketing, which is why it accounts for presentation, timing and how the specific block has been trading. An appraisal asks what value the property supports as security for a loan, which makes it deliberately conservative and anchored to closed sales rather than to what is happening this week.

That is why the two numbers can differ without either being wrong. An appraiser generally works from recent closed transactions and public records, and against the Saskatchewan REALTORS Association benchmark of $444,700 the whole market moves faster than the closed record shows. A rising market makes appraisals lag. A quiet market makes them look generous.

Neither document sees what nobody filed. Basement development, a rebuilt kitchen or a new furnace installed without a permit is invisible to both unless someone puts the evidence forward. Joel Dyck's hand-reviewed valuation gathers that material first, which improves the listing price and gives the appraiser something real to work from later.

Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.

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