Terminology
EQUALIZATION RATE - An equalization rate is the state's measure of a municipality's level of assessment. This is the ratio of total assessed value (AV) to the municipality's total market value (MV) or AV/MV. The municipality determines the AV and the MV is estimated by NYS. An equalization rate of 100 means that the municipality is assessing property at 100 percent of market value. An equalization rate of less than 100 means that the municipality's total market value is greater than it's assessed value. An equalization rate of greater than 100 means that the total assessed value for the municipality is greater than its total market value.
RESIDENTIAL ASSESSEMENT RATIO - The ratio of residential property assessed value (AV) and selling price (SP) at time of sale or AV/SP. A ratio of 1.00 means that property is selling for the assessed value. A ratio of less than 1.00 means property is selling for more than it is assessed for. And a ratio of greater than 1.00 means that property is selling for less than assessed value.
LEVEL OF ASSESSMENT RATIO - The Level of Assessment (LOA) is simply the percentage of market value at which properties are assessed within a community. For instance, an LOA of 50% would indicate that assessments are at half of the market value; an LOA of 100% represents a community that is assessing at full value.
