Which term is used to describe a property's intrinsic value to an owner, often leading to unwise economic decisions?

The term that describes a property's intrinsic value to an owner, which can lead to unwise economic decisions, is "use value." Use value refers to the worth of a property based specifically on how an owner personally values it or how they intend to utilize it, rather than what the market would typically pay for it.

When an owner assigns a high use value to their property, they might overlook economic realities, potentially resulting in decisions that don't align with market conditions. For example, an owner may refuse to sell a property even when market value indicates it's time to sell, purely because of their personal attachment or perceived benefits of the property, which may not be justified when evaluating broader financial considerations.

Market value, on the other hand, is determined by the price that a property would sell for in the open market, based on comparable sales and demand factors. Appraised value refers to an estimate given by a professional appraiser based on market conditions and property characteristics, and comparative value involves assessing a property against similar properties or market benchmarks. None of these directly relate to the personal attachment or subjective assessment that defines use value.