Divorcing? Here’s what you need to know about property valuation

But in a divorce or separation, there is another question that can be just as important as how much the property is worth: what date are we valuing it as of?

That’s something I regularly deal with when completing appraisals for matrimonial matters. In many cases, I’m not being asked what the home would sell for today. I’m being asked to determine what it was worth on a specific date in the past. And when real estate markets have moved significantly, the difference can be substantial.

Today’s value may not be the value you need

Consider a couple who separated three years ago but are only now dealing with the financial aspects of their separation. Their home might be worth $1 million today, but if the relevant valuation date was three years ago, today’s value doesn’t answer the question.

Perhaps the property was worth $900,000 then. Or perhaps it was worth $1.1 million.

We’ve seen significant changes in Greater Toronto Area real estate values over the past several years as interest rates, inventory, and buyer demand have shifted. That’s why one of the first things that needs to be established is the effective date of the appraisal.

The appropriate date will depend on the circumstances and the legal purpose of the valuation, so that’s something you should confirm with your family lawyer. Once I have that date, my job as an appraiser is to look backward and determine what the property would reasonably have sold for in the market that existed at that time.

How do you appraise a home three or five years later?

This is known as a retrospective appraisal.

One misconception about historical valuations is that an appraiser can simply take today’s value and adjust it by whatever percentage the overall real estate market has increased or decreased. It’s not that simple.

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Suppose a home is worth $1 million today and prices in the GTA are 10% lower than they were on the date of separation. That doesn’t automatically mean the property was worth $1.1 million at the time. Different neighborhoods, property types, and even individual homes can behave differently from the broader market.

I go back to the historical market and look at comparable properties that sold around the effective date. I consider the same things buyers would have considered at the time: location, property type, lot size, living area, condition, renovations, and other features that could influence value.

In other words, I’m trying to put myself back into that market and answer a fairly straightforward question: What would a typical buyer likely have paid for this particular property on that particular date?

The condition of the home at separation matters

This is where retrospective appraisals can become more complicated. Imagine a couple separated in 2021. One spouse remained in the home and, over the next few years, renovated the kitchen, replaced the flooring, finished the basement, and updated the bathrooms.

Now, in 2026, I’m asked to appraise the property as of the 2021 separation date.

I can’t value the renovated 2026 house and assume that’s what existed five years earlier. I need to understand the property as it existed in 2021. That’s why historical information can be so useful.

An old MLS listing may contain photographs showing the property’s previous condition. Renovation invoices can establish when improvements were completed. Building permits, photographs, floor plans, and other records can also help.

I deal with retrospective valuations regularly, and the further back the valuation date goes, the more important this type of documentation can become. If you know a historical property valuation may eventually be required, don’t throw those records away.

What if the appraiser can’t get inside the home?

This is another issue that can arise after a separation. Perhaps one spouse still occupies the matrimonial home and the other spouse is requesting the appraisal. Sometimes an interior inspection can be arranged, but sometimes access isn’t available. That doesn’t necessarily mean a retrospective valuation is impossible.

There may be other information available to help the appraiser understand the property. A previous MLS listing, for example, may contain interior photographs and descriptions. There may also be renovation records, building information, or other historical documentation.

But an appraisal completed without interior access is different from one where the appraiser has inspected the property. The important thing is for the report to be transparent about what information was available, what could and couldn’t be verified, and what assumptions were necessary to complete the valuation. The appraiser shouldn’t pretend to know something that couldn’t be confirmed.

What if the house sells for more than the appraised value?

This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions I encounter with retrospective appraisals.

Suppose the matrimonial home is appraised at $1 million as of the separation date. Two years later, the property sells for $1.15 million.

It’s easy to look at those two numbers and conclude that the appraisal was $150,000 too low. But that’s comparing values from two different dates. A lot can happen in two years: interest rates may change, buyer demand may increase or decrease, there may be fewer comparable homes available for sale, or the property itself may have been renovated.

The later selling price tells us what a buyer was willing to pay on the later sale date. It doesn’t automatically tell us what the property was worth two years earlier.

An appraisal isn’t a prediction of what a home will eventually sell for; it’s an opinion of market value as of a specific date. That distinction is particularly important in a volatile real estate market.

What if you and your former spouse disagree about the value?

It’s completely understandable that two people going through a separation may have different views about what their home is worth. The problem is when the appraisal itself becomes part of that disagreement.

An appraiser’s role isn’t to produce the highest possible value for one spouse or the lowest possible value for the other. The appraiser should be independent.

When I complete a matrimonial appraisal, I’m looking at the market evidence and forming an opinion based on that evidence. Sometimes the resulting value may be higher than a client expected, and sometimes it may be lower. That shouldn’t change the conclusion.

A good appraisal should be something that can be explained and supported, not simply a number that benefits the person who ordered it.

Don’t wait longer than necessary

I sometimes receive requests to determine what a property was worth many years ago. It can often still be done—historical sales data doesn’t simply disappear, and there may be enough information available to develop a reliable opinion of value.

But time can make the assignment more challenging. People forget when renovations were completed. Photographs get deleted. Receipts disappear. The property itself changes.

If your family lawyer tells you that a historical appraisal is likely to be required, getting it completed earlier can make the process easier and preserve information that may be useful later.

The appraiser does not decide how the home gets divided

Finally, it’s important to understand what an appraisal does—and what it doesn’t do. An appraiser provides an independent opinion of the property’s market value as of a specified date. We don’t decide which spouse gets the house, calculate how the couple’s assets should ultimately be divided, or determine which valuation date the law requires. Those are legal matters that should be discussed with your family lawyer.

But when a home represents a significant portion of a couple’s wealth, having a well-supported and independent opinion of its value can remove one major area of uncertainty.

Divorce already involves enough difficult financial decisions. Knowing what your home was actually worth—and making sure you’re looking at the right date—can give both sides a much clearer starting point.

Read more about real estate:

• Home appraisal vs. tax assessment
• How much is your home really worth?
• The hidden value of a professional real estate appraisal

About Tejveer S. Walia, P.App, CRA

Tejveer S. Walia is a designated appraiser with Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) and the founder of Walson Consulting Inc., serving homeowners, lawyers, and estate professionals across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

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