Assessed value
Definition
Assessed value is the dollar figure a local government assigns to a property specifically to calculate property taxes.1 It's often a set percentage of market value and is updated on a schedule set by state law, not automatically when the market moves.
Why it matters
Because assessments run on their own schedule, sometimes annually, sometimes only every few years, assessed values can lag badly behind actual market value in fast-changing neighborhoods. Owners can appeal an assessment they think is too high, and how actively residents in an area file appeals affects who carries a disproportionate share of the tax burden.
Seen in the wild
The Chicago Tribune's 2017 "Tax Divide" investigation, later continued by ProPublica, found Cook County's assessment system systematically overvalued lower-priced homes, disproportionately in Black and Latino neighborhoods, while undervaluing expensive properties, a pattern a follow-up study estimated shifted more than $2 billion in tax burden onto owners least likely to win an appeal.2