What is the home worth as of the date of death, and why does that date matter?

Why that date

The estate's tax work starts from what your mother's or father's home was worth on the day they died, not what it sells for later. Your CPA or attorney will tell you exactly how the figure is used; the program's part is to put a defensible number on it, in writing, with the evidence attached.

What the CPA does with it

The CPA or estate attorney uses the date-of-death value in the estate's filings and in working out what, if anything, is owed when the home later sells. What selling an inherited house or co-op means for taxes, and whether the proceeds count as income, is their call for that estate, not the program's; the program's job is to make sure the number they start from is written down, dated and backed by recorded sales. If you have not yet spoken to a CPA about the estate, the value letter is a good reason to.

How the letter is built

• Recorded Bayside sales as close to the date of death as the market allows, each one listed with its transfer date, price and NYC record. For a co-op, sales in the same complex come first.
• Adjustments in plain words: size, floor, condition and terms of each sale against the subject.
• Local details that change the number, such as the land-lease history in the Bay Terrace sections.
• A range and a most likely value as of the date of death.

It is a comparative market analysis by a licensed associate real estate broker. It is not an appraisal, and not tax or legal advice. If the estate needs a certified appraisal, the letter says so.

What Bayside estate homes sold for in 2025

Medians of recorded prices, not adjusted for size or condition. A single apartment can sit well above or below its complex's median; that is what the letter is for.