In one line: What a home would be worth after the work is done, the number every fixer-upper deal is priced against.
ARV is what a property would sell for once it has been repaired and updated: not what it costs today, and not what the seller hopes, but what finished homes of the same size and age nearby actually close at.
Investors work backwards from it. Estimate the ARV from comparable sales, subtract the repair budget and the profit margin the risk deserves, and what is left is the most the purchase can cost. Overestimating ARV is the classic way a flip loses money, because every later number inherits the error.
On Kouzr, the comps-based price-per-square-foot read on a listing page is the raw material for an ARV estimate: it tells you what nearby homes in sold condition go for before you adjust for the work.
A worked example
Renovated three-bedroom homes of the same age within a mile close at about $250 per square foot. The 1,600 sq ft fixer you are pricing therefore has an ARV near $400,000, whatever it is listed at today.
Run the numbers in the ARV calculator
Questions people ask
How do I estimate ARV?
From comparable sales in finished condition: the price per square foot of renovated homes of similar size and age nearby, times the home's living area, adjusted for anything the comps have that it will not. Use closed sales, not asking prices, and use the county's square footage rather than the listing's.
Is ARV the same as an appraisal?
No. An appraisal values the home as it stands today. ARV is a forecast of what it would appraise at after specific work, and it is only as reliable as the comps and the repair scope behind it.