[GNC] How to Properly Record Valuation Changes in Home Value?

[Tom Route-36]

Hi all,

I wanted to reply to all of you here who jumped in with your advice and 
comments.  I think I understand the proper way to handle this now.  And 
it seems pretty simple and straightforward too thanks to all your 
feedback.  To keep things recorded properly I just need to create a new 
Equity account (named Unrealized Appreciation or something similar). 
And then for each valuation change entry in my Asset account (MyHome) I 
put a corresponding entry in that new Equity account to balance things. 
Really simple now that I look back on my question.  Anyway, thanks again 
to everybody.

Tom



On 9/15/2025 4:30 PM, David Warren wrote:
> Most accountants will tell you to credit equity for unrealized appreciation
> in your assets.
> 
> But if you are doing your own books, it's really your choice in terms of
> what types of reports you want to see and how you want to use. Sometimes I
> credit income accounts for unrealized appreciation because it makes it
> easier for me to track how a certain asset account has grown or shrunk year
> by year and what types of income (realized, unrealized, taxable or not yet
> taxed) it has thrown off. When the income is eventually realized I credit
> realized income and debit unrealized income, which works for me. But it's
> really a matter of how you want things to work for you.
> 
> On Mon, Sep 15, 2025, 5:03 PM Kalpesh Patel <kalpesh.patel at usa.net> wrote:
> 
>> I've done something similar.
>>
>> I've created a sub-account called "Appreciation" underneath the real estate
>> asset holding account, and then I add the valuation transaction as noted in
>> the appraisal report in "Appreciation" against "Retained Earnings"
>> underneath "Equity".
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Murugan Mariappan <m.muruganandam at hotmail.com>
>> Sent: Monday, September 15, 2025 8:49 AM
>> To: gnucash-user at gnucash.org; Harold Hallikainen <harold at hallikainen.org>
>> Subject: Re: [GNC] How to Properly Record Valuation Changes in Home Value?
>>
>> Revlaution suplus / deficit should be treated as non P&L items, so best way
>> to is to create a Revaluation Account under Equity and pass the entries for
>> example
>>
>>
>> Dr Assets:Building (PPE)                         $100,000
>>      Cr Equity: Revaluation Account         $100,000
>>
>> If there is a loss then it will  be in the reverse for example
>>
>> Cr Assets:Building (PPE)                         $50,000
>>      Dr Equity: Revaluation Account         $50,000
>>
>>
>>
>> Saludos Cordiales
>>
>>
>> Murugan
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: gnucash-user
>> <gnucash-user-bounces+m.muruganandam=hotmail.com at gnucash.org> on behalf of
>> Harold Hallikainen via gnucash-user <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>
>> Sent: 15 September 2025 00:03
>> To: gnucash-user at gnucash.org <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>
>> Subject: Re: [GNC] How to Properly Record Valuation Changes in Home Value?
>>
>> I'd be tempted to have two subaccounts in the MyHome asset. These would be
>> Purchase Price and Unrealized Appreciation. Then have an income account
>> called Unrealized Income.
>>
>> Harold
>>
>>
>> On Sun, September 14, 2025 7:57 pm, Tom Route-36 wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>>
>>> This is more of a double entry bookkeeping question rather than
>>> something specific to GnuCash; but I'd appreciate any input on the
>>> proper way to do this.  I'm tracking the valuation changes of my
>>> personal home based on notices that I get every 2 years from the
>>> County Assessor.  When I was using Quicken, I did this in a single
>>> account (named MyHome).  The opening balance of MyHome was my original
>>> purchase price.  And then every 2 years as I got updated valuation
>>> notices, I'd record a transaction back into that same MyHome account
>>> (since Quicken would let me do that) to adjust the MyHome account
>>> balance to make it match the current value listed on the County
>> Assessor's
>> notice.
>>>
>>> Now that I'm using GnuCash and having to do things properly with
>>> double entry accounting, I was wondering how to go back and fix
>>> things.  I know I still want an Asset account for MyHome to track the
>>> valuation.  But for DE accounting, what should I be using for that
>>> corresponding second account to balance things out as the valuation
>> changes?
>>>
>>> Tom
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>>
>>
>> --
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