What are WOZ, sale and rebuild values?

All three relate to your home, and the values can vary considerably. If you put the WOZ value letter next to the sales value or reconstruction value of your home, you probably don't understand it at all. To explain this properly, you first need to know exactly what the values mean.

What is WOZ value?

The WOZ value is an estimate of the value of your home determined by the municipality. The municipality estimates the WOZ value based on the average sales price of comparable homes in your neighborhood from a year ago. So, you now receive the WOZ value with the value as of January 1, 2023.

Sales value and reconstruction value

Sales value is the amount your home is expected to fetch if you were to sell it now. This is determined by an independent appraiser, who looks at the type of home, its condition, its location and the selling prices of comparable homes at the time. The rebuild value is the amount needed to rebuild your home in the same way and location, calculated at the time of the damage. The rebuild value is used to insure your home for the appropriate amount.

How do these values relate to each other?

All three values are independent of each other. The WOZ value is partly related to the sales value and also takes into account the value of the land and location. However, the WOZ value is an average value from a year ago and does not take into account the state of maintenance and certain aspects of the property itself.

In contrast, the reconstruction value is not derived at all from the sales value or the WOZ value and often falls below the sales value, and sometimes also below the WOZ value, because the reconstruction value does not consider the location and land value. Finally, the reconstruction value is necessary for building insurance, in case the property is lost to fire, for example; after all, land and location cannot burn down.