Selling, Appraising, and Assessing: Three Different Jobs
Property valuation is often misunderstood. Selling real estate, appraising a single property for a lender, and assessing every parcel in a county for tax purposes are three distinct professions — each with its own training, credentials, and standards.
The Assessor does the third — and only the third.
Fee Appraisal
One property at a time
Valued for a specific transaction - Sale, refinance, or loan.
Hired by a lender or private client
Governed by USPAP Standards 1 & 2
Walk-through inspections of the subject
Performed by licensed or certified appraisers
The Goal - A defensible value for one party
Mass Appraisal
Every parcel in a region at once
Valued annually for property tax purposes
Required by Washington state law
Governed by USPAP Standard 6 and IAAO
Statistical modeling, ratio studies, GIS, and sales data
Performed by DOR-accredited appraisers
The Goal - Uniform, equitable values across an entire jurisdiction
A real estate license qualifies someone to market and sell property — a valuable skill, but not the same as appraisal or mass appraisal. A fee appraisal license, earned through additional education and supervised experience, qualifies someone to value a single property for a lender. Mass appraisal is a third discipline entirely: the statistical and ethical practice of valuing every parcel in a county fairly, uniformly, and defensibly.
That's why Washington requires DOR accreditation for anyone valuing real property for tax purposes. And it's why I pursued and was awarded the Residential Evaluation Specialist (RES) and Assessment Administration Specialist(AAS) designations from the International Association of Assessing Officers — the national standards body for mass appraisal. Assessing property for taxation is its own profession, with its own standards, its own credentials, and its own ethical obligations. Voters deserve someone trained to do exactly that job.