Appraisal is the act of estimating the monetary value of real, personal, or intangible property, usually performed as a service by someone recognized as an expert or certified by an organization.

Common appraisal fields are;

• Aircraft
• Antiques
• Construction equipment
• Jewelry
• Real estate appraisal - the most common usage of the term appraisal

In the field of real estate transactions, appraisal is the act of determining the value of a property . There are two main types of appraisal:

• Fee Appraisal - Appraisal of an individual property by a contracted appraiser who is usually paid a fee. For example, this will be done prior to a loan being issued by a bank , to verify that there is sufficient collateral should the borrower default.
• Mass appraisal - Appraisal of many properties using a more statistical approach. Usually done by government agencies responsible for setting values for property tax calculations.

There are various approaches to determining the value, including:

• Market - a.k.a. "sales comparison" - establishing the value based on a comparison of what similar properties have sold for.
• Cost - Establishing value based on the cost to build that structure new, less depreciation .
• Income - For commercial properties, establishing the value based on the income the property generates. For example, Retail space may be valued based on the rental income.