The listing says $187,000. You run comps and find similar homes selling for $310,000. Something is off, and you are not sure which number to trust.
If you have been buying at Ohio sheriff sales, you are used to the sheriff's appraisal, a number that roughly tracks market value. When you pull up a Florida foreclosure auction listing and see a dollar figure attached to the property, your instinct is to treat it the same way. That instinct will cost you money.
Florida foreclosure listings show the county property appraiser's assessed value, not market value. In most cases, that number is 30% to 50% below what the property would actually sell for on the open market. The gap exists because of a Florida constitutional amendment called Save Our Homes, and understanding how it works is the difference between walking away from a good deal and overpaying for a bad one.
Below, we will walk through why that number is wrong, how the gap gets so wide, and exactly how to find the real market value before you bid.
Quick vocabulary check
If you are coming from Ohio sheriff sales, a few Florida terms will trip you up.
The assessed value is the number the county property appraiser assigns for tax purposes. In Florida, it is not the same as market value (we will get into why shortly). The just value is Florida's term for fair market value. The property appraiser estimates this number too, but it is buried on their website rather than displayed on the auction listing.
The Save Our Homes cap (SOH) is a constitutional provision that limits how fast a homesteaded property's assessed value can climb each year, regardless of what the market does. This is the root of the whole problem.
One more thing: Florida does not have sheriff sales. The Clerk of the Circuit Court runs foreclosure auctions. If you search "Florida sheriff sale" online, you will come up empty. Drop that phrase from your vocabulary now.
How Save Our Homes creates a 30% to 50% gap
In 1995, Florida voters passed the Save Our Homes amendment (Article VII, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution). The rule is straightforward: for homesteaded properties, the assessed value cannot increase by more than 3% per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.
In practice, it works like this.
Say someone bought a home in Miami-Dade County in 2015 for $200,000. At the time, the assessed value and market value were roughly the same. Over the next 10 years, South Florida property values climbed significantly. By 2025, similar homes in the neighborhood are selling for $400,000.
But the assessed value? It has been capped at 3% annual increases. After 10 years of maximum increases, the assessed value sits around $268,000. The market says $400,000. The tax rolls say $268,000. That is a 33% gap.
Now consider a property that was purchased in 2010 for $150,000 during the post-crash lows. The market value has more than doubled. The assessed value has crawled up at 3% per year. The gap can easily reach 40% to 50%.
The longer someone has owned a homesteaded property, the wider this gap becomes. In fast-appreciating markets like Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, we regularly see gaps exceeding 40%.
So when that property enters foreclosure and shows up on an auction listing, the number you see is the assessed value. Not the just value, not the market value. The capped, artificially low assessed value.
The two ways this mistake costs you money
Ohio investors expanding into Florida foreclosure auctions typically make one of two errors. Both are expensive.
Mistake 1: Walking away from good deals (underbidding)
You see a listing with an assessed value of $150,000. You run a quick comp check and see the judgment amount is $210,000. You think: "The property is worth $150,000 and the debt is $210,000. This is underwater. Skip it."
But the actual market value is $280,000. You walked away from a property with $70,000 in equity above the judgment because you treated the assessed value as a market value anchor.
We see this pattern constantly in our data. Investors scanning Florida foreclosure auctions dismiss properties as underwater when they are actually profitable, simply because the assessed value looks low relative to the judgment amount.
Mistake 2: Bidding without a real anchor (overbidding)
Some investors realize the assessed value is not reliable and decide to just ignore it entirely. But now they are bidding without any value anchor at all. They rely on gut feeling, a quick Zillow check on their phone, or the behavior of other bidders in the auction.
Without a disciplined valuation process, these investors tend to chase properties and overbid, especially in competitive auctions in counties like Orange and Hillsborough.
The fix for both mistakes is the same: ignore the assessed value as a market indicator and build your own valuation before you bid.
How to find the real market value (step by step)
You do not need to do all five of these for every property, but the more you check, the tighter your bid gets.
Step 1: Check the county property appraiser's "just value"
Every Florida county property appraiser publishes two numbers: the assessed value (capped) and the just value (their estimate of market value). Most auction listings only show the assessed value, but the just value is available on the property appraiser's website.
Go to the county property appraiser's site, search by address or parcel number, and look for "just value" or "market value." In many counties, this number is closer to reality than the assessed value, though it can still lag behind fast-moving markets.
For Miami-Dade, the property appraiser site is miamidade.gov/pa. For Broward, it is bcpa.net. Each county has its own site, and they all use different formats.
Step 2: Pull comparable sales
This is the same process you use for Ohio sheriff sales, but the comps matter more here because you cannot rely on the listed value.
Look at closed sales within the last six months, within a half-mile radius, with similar square footage, bed/bath count, and year built. In Florida, you also need to account for flood zone, HOA status, and whether the property is a condo (condos carry additional risks with special assessments and association liens).
Three to five solid comps give you a reliable market value range.
Step 3: Use AuctionScout's AI predictions
AuctionScout's AI valuation model pulls from Zestimate, Redfin estimates, Realtor.com data, and comparable sales to generate a predicted value for each auction property. It also shows a confidence score so you know how much weight to give it.
For Florida properties, this sidesteps the assessed value problem entirely. Instead of starting from a capped number and trying to adjust upward, you get a market-based estimate built on actual comparable sales in the area.
We cover 39 Florida counties, including the high-volume markets where this problem is most acute: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, and Duval.
Step 4: Cross-reference with online estimates
Zillow's Zestimate, Redfin's estimate, and Realtor.com's valuation are not perfect, but they provide additional data points. When all three cluster around a similar number and your comps agree, you can bid with confidence.
When they diverge significantly, that is a signal to dig deeper. Pull more comps, check for property condition issues, or look for recent permits that might indicate renovations (or the lack of them).
Step 5: Calculate your maximum bid
Once you have a real market value, work backward:
For a flip: Market value x 0.70, minus estimated repairs, equals your maximum bid. This is the 70% rule, and it works the same in Florida as it does in Ohio.
For a rental: Calculate your target cash-on-cash return based on the purchase price plus repairs, and back into the maximum bid that hits your return threshold.
For wholesale: Your maximum bid is the price at which you can assign the contract to a buyer and still make your assignment fee, given the market value.
Every one of these calculations requires the real market value, not the assessed value. Start from the wrong number and everything downstream is wrong too.
Why this problem does not exist in Ohio
If you have only bought at Ohio sheriff sales, this whole article probably feels bizarre. Why would a state put a number on a listing that has nothing to do with market value? Ohio and Florida just use completely different systems.
In Ohio, the sheriff orders an appraisal before the sale. That sheriff's appraisal is meant to approximate market value, and it is usually in the right ballpark. The first sale has a minimum bid of two-thirds of the appraised value. You have a reliable anchor.
In Florida, there is no pre-sale appraisal. The Clerk of the Circuit Court runs the foreclosure auction, and the only number readily available is the county property appraiser's assessed value, which is a tax calculation capped by Save Our Homes. It was never designed to tell you what the property is worth.
That is the single biggest adjustment you need to make when crossing into Florida. The number on the listing is not what you think it is.
Important notes about non-homesteaded properties
Save Our Homes only applies to properties with a homestead exemption. Investment properties, second homes, and commercial properties are assessed at just value (market value) without the 3% cap.
This means the assessed value gap is smaller or nonexistent for non-homesteaded properties. But there is a catch: many properties entering foreclosure were owner-occupied and homesteaded. The homeowner lost the property, which means the SOH cap was in effect during their ownership, and the assessed value reflects years of capped increases.
After the foreclosure sale, the new owner will not have homestead status (unless they move in and apply). The property will be reassessed at just value, which means property taxes will jump. Factor this into your holding cost calculations.
Run the numbers on a specific example: a property with an assessed value of $180,000 and a just value of $300,000. At a typical Florida millage rate of around 18 to 20 mills, that $120,000 increase in assessed value adds roughly $2,200 to $2,400 per year in property taxes. If you are running rental projections, that hit goes straight to your bottom line.
Common mistakes to avoid
Treating the assessed value as a bidding floor (or ceiling, or guide). It is a tax number. Period. Ignore it for valuation purposes.
Skipping the property appraiser website. The just value is right there, usually on the same page as the assessed value. Takes 30 seconds to look up and gives you a much better starting point.
Relying on a single valuation source. Zestimate alone is not enough. Comps alone might miss recent market shifts. Use multiple sources and look for convergence.
Forgetting the tax reassessment. When you buy a previously homesteaded property, taxes reset. A property paying $3,000/year might owe $5,500/year after the sale. Build this into your numbers from day one.
Assuming Florida works like Ohio. Different entity runs the sale (Clerk vs. Sheriff). Different valuation shown (assessed vs. appraised). Different minimum bid rules. Treat Florida as a new market with its own rules.
Frequently asked questions
Is the assessed value ever accurate for Florida foreclosure properties?
For non-homesteaded properties (rentals, second homes, commercial), the assessed value should be close to market value since the Save Our Homes cap does not apply. For homesteaded properties, especially those owned for five or more years in appreciating markets, the assessed value is almost always significantly below market value.
Where do I find the "just value" for a Florida property?
Every county property appraiser has a website where you can search by address or parcel ID. Look for "just value," "market value," or "full cash value." The just value is the property appraiser's estimate of market value before any exemptions or caps are applied.
Does AuctionScout show the assessed value or the market value?
AuctionScout shows the assessed value (because that is what the county publishes) alongside our AI-predicted market value. The AI prediction uses comparable sales, Zestimate, Redfin, and Realtor.com data to estimate what the property is actually worth. This gives you both numbers side by side so you can see the gap immediately.
What happens to the Save Our Homes cap after a foreclosure sale?
The cap resets. When a property changes ownership through foreclosure, the new owner does not inherit the previous homestead exemption or the SOH cap. The property will be reassessed at just value for the next tax year. If you plan to occupy the property, you can apply for a new homestead exemption, but the assessed value resets to the current just value first.
How do I know if a property had a homestead exemption?
The county property appraiser's website will show whether a homestead exemption is currently active on the property. If it shows a homestead exemption and you see a gap between assessed value and just value, that gap is the SOH cap in action.
Start checking the real numbers
Florida's foreclosure auction market is the busiest in the country right now. According to AuctionScout data, the state's foreclosure rate leads the nation at 0.27% of housing units, up 33% year over year. That means more properties hitting auctions across all 39 Florida counties we cover.
Every one of those listings comes with an assessed value that does not tell you what the property is worth. Now you know why, and you know how to find the real number.
Set up alerts on AuctionScout for the Florida counties you are targeting. The AI predictions show you the real market value alongside the assessed value, so you can spot the gap instantly. Try it free for 14 days, no credit card required, at auctionscout.app.