Assessed value as proxy for Market Value?

[Tushar Shah]

Hello BP!!

Should one look at assessed value for tax purposes on government website as proxy for fair value. The property I am looking has a listing price of over half a million, however, the on governments website - the assessed value is only 260K - I understand that market value for tax purposes may not be very recent - but does one see such large differences and should the market value assessed for tax purposes should be a guide for fair market value?