What does my county assesors value actually mean?

[Robert Ferrell]

Hey everyone,

There has been this vacant SF house on my street for the last year and it is now finally listed for sale. I believe it is a foreclosure but am not 100% sure (any help on how to figure this out would be great). It is listed at $165,000. So here is where my question comes in. I pulled up the property on my county assessor's website and it says that the "Roll year 2017 assessed value" of the land plus improvements equals about 108,000. Does that mean that in its current condition, that is all the property should be worth? Which would make the asking price of $165k way too much. Or does that assessed value not have anything to do with what the property should be purchased or sold for? And if not, when and what should these county assessments be used for? Also, the property is in pretty heavy disrepair and would need a good deal of work to become rent ready. Thanks!

[Andrew Johnson]

@Robert Ferrell I'd trust a Zestimate more than I'd trust the assessed value.  And I wouldn't trust a Zestimate :-)