Market value (valeur vénale)

Valeur vénale (market value) is the most probable price at which a property would sell, at a given date, in normal market conditions. It is neither the price the seller hopes for, nor the price a particular buyer would accept for reasons of their own, nor a forced sale price. The Charte de l’expertise en évaluation immobilière (the French property valuation charter) and the European Valuation Standards adopt the same definition, that of the European banking regulation CRR: the estimated amount for which the property should exchange, at the valuation date, between a willing buyer and a willing seller, in an arm’s length transaction, after proper marketing, where the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion.

Every word counts. “Willing” means motivated but not compelled. “Proper marketing” assumes that the property has been exposed to the market for a reasonable period. “Without compulsion” excludes hurried sales, liquidations and transfers between relatives. Market value is expressed net of transfer duties and costs, unless the report states otherwise.

Where the rule comes from

The definition appears in Title III, § 1.1.2 of the Charte (6th edition, November 2025), which analyses each of its elements in § 1.1.3. The EVS 2025 set it out in EVS 1, § 3.1, taking up Regulation (EU) No 575/2013. In French tax law, article 761 of the French General Tax Code requires property transferred to be assessed on its “real market value” at the date of transfer: the same concept underlies inheritance tax, gift tax and the IFI (French wealth tax on property).

In a valuation report

I begin by fixing the valuation date and the condition of the property at that date (legal, tenancy and physical situation). I then adopt the comparison method as the reference approach, which I cross-check, where the property lends itself to it, with an income method or another approach. The report presents the comparables adopted, the adjustments applied and their justification, then concludes with a range and a single figure. It always specifies which value is meant, because market value differs from mortgage lending value, prudent value or investment value, which answer other questions.

Example

A house of 110 m² habitable area in PONT-L’ABBÉ, garden of 600 m², energy rating D. Five recent sales of comparable houses, adjusted for their differences in floor area, condition and land, give prices between €2,350 and €2,650 per m². I adopt a range of €260,000 to €290,000 and a market value of €275,000 at 1 March 2026, net of transfer duties. If the same house were sold by an owner in a hurry to move abroad, the price obtained might be lower: that price would not be the market value, but a quick sale price.

Not to be confused with

A price is a figure observed in a specific transaction; market value is an estimate. Rental value concerns rent, not price. Mortgage lending value and prudent value are conservative values calculated for a lender. Fair value belongs to accounting.