Asset value: How to track what your assets are worth
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Key takeaways
Asset value is what an asset is worth at a specific point in time, and it can change based on market conditions, wear, or demand.
Different asset types are valued differently: property by comparable sales, investments by market price, equipment by depreciation.
Asset value changes over time, so a figure that’s accurate today may not be accurate in a year.
For assets held abroad, asset value has to be converted to a single currency to compare fairly against domestic holdings.
Recording the date and exchange rate alongside any valuation makes future comparisons far easier.
Asset value is what an asset is worth at a given point in time, and it changes based on market conditions, depreciation, and demand. Here’s how to think about it, especially if some of what you own sits in a country with a different currency than the one you use every day.
What is asset value?
Asset value is the estimated worth of something you own at a particular moment, whether that’s a piece of property, an investment, or a business asset(opens in new window). Because market conditions shift, asset value isn’t fixed. A property’s value might rise or fall with the local real estate market, while an investment’s value moves with the broader market or the performance of the specific company or fund.
Why asset value matters for your financial picture
Knowing the value of what you own matters for several practical reasons: it feeds into your net worth calculation, it affects how much you could borrow against an asset, and it determines what you’d receive if you sold it. Different types of assets are valued using different methods:
Property is often valued by comparing recent sales of similar properties nearby.
Investments like stocks are valued at their current market price.
Equipment and vehicles typically depreciate, meaning their value decreases predictably over time.
Businesses are valued using more complex methods, similar in spirit to how a venture-backed company is valued(opens in new window), that consider revenue, assets, and future earning potential.
Record-keeping tip
Whenever you get a valuation for an asset, whether formal or informal, record the date and, if the asset is abroad, the exchange rate you used to convert it to your primary currency. Asset values and exchange rates both move, so a six-month-old valuation converted at today’s rate can give a misleading picture unless you know exactly when each number was current.
Asset value and international money transfers
For immigrants with property or other assets in their home country, asset value takes on an extra dimension: it fluctuates not only with the local market but also with the exchange rate used to compare it to your primary currency. A property valued in, say, Canadian dollars(opens in new window) that hasn’t changed in local-currency terms can still appear to gain or lose value once converted, purely because of currency movement.
This matters most when you’re making decisions that involve transferring money, such as sending funds to purchase property, or receiving proceeds from selling an asset abroad. Tracking both the local-currency value and the exchange rate at the time of any transfer gives you an accurate record of what the asset actually cost or returned in your primary currency, useful for both personal planning and, where applicable, tax reporting.
Book value versus market value
An asset’s book value, the amount recorded on financial statements, often reflects its original cost minus any depreciation, while its market value(opens in new window) reflects what it could actually sell for today. These two figures can diverge considerably, especially for property or a business, making it worth knowing which specific value a lender, buyer, or tax authority is actually asking about.
Why professional appraisals matter for significant assets
For a higher-value asset like real estate or a business, a professional appraisal provides a documented, defensible estimate of current value, useful for a loan application, an estate matter, or a sale. Relying on an informal estimate alone for a significant asset can create problems later if that value is ever formally challenged or questioned.
Currency movement and cross-border asset value
If you own an asset priced in a foreign currency, its value in U.S. dollar terms fluctuates with the exchange rate, independent of any change in the asset’s actual local value. This means a property or investment abroad can appear to gain or lose value in your home-currency terms even when nothing about the asset itself has changed.
Why insurance coverage should match current value, not original cost
If you’re insuring a significant asset, confirming the coverage reflects its current market value rather than what you originally paid protects you from being underinsured, particularly relevant for an asset that’s appreciated meaningfully, like certain real estate, since original cost figures can understate what it would actually take to replace or rebuild.
Common questions about asset value
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How is the value of property determined?
Property value is typically assessed by comparing recent sale prices of similar properties in the same area, sometimes supplemented by a professional appraisal. Local market conditions, the property’s condition, and its location all factor in, and values can vary meaningfully even within the same city.
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Why does the value of my assets abroad seem to change even when nothing happened to them?
This is usually a currency effect. If the local-currency value of a property or account hasn’t changed but the exchange rate between that currency and your primary currency has moved, the converted value will appear different even though nothing about the underlying asset changed.
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Does asset value affect how much I can borrow?
Often, yes, particularly for secured loans like a mortgage or a loan against property. Lenders typically base how much they’ll lend on a percentage of the asset’s assessed value, so an accurate, current valuation matters when applying for this type of financing.
In Summary
Asset value is a moving target, shaped by market conditions and, for anything held abroad, by exchange rates as well. Keeping a habit of recording valuations alongside the date and any relevant exchange rate gives you a clearer, more reliable picture over time than trying to reconstruct it later from memory.
This publication is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to cover all aspects of the topics discussed herein. This publication is not a substitute for seeking advice from an applicable specialist or professional. The content in this publication does not constitute legal, tax, or other professional advice from Remitly or any of its affiliates and should not be relied upon as such. While we strive to keep our posts up to date and accurate, we cannot represent, warrant, or otherwise guarantee that the content is accurate, complete, or up to date.