While some realtors are reporting a dip in housing prices in the Metro Vancouver real estate market, this year's assessments from the province will show value increases of up to 50 per cent.
A statement from the BC Assessment Authority issued Tuesday said owners of single-family homes may see their 2017 assessment increase between 30 to 50 per cent from last year. Those seeing the highest increases will be in Vancouver, Squamish, Burnaby, Tri-Cities, Richmond, Surrey and on the North Shore, the statement said.
Those in strata-run properties in the same regions will see increases between 15 and 30 per cent.
But the increases in value are based on July 1 data, and may not accurately reflect what a residence would sell for in today's market.
The increases were calculated before the province enacted its 15 per cent foreign buyers' tax in August, which saw some sales fall through and some buyers pull out of the market altogether.
Early figures from the Finance Ministry showed there were 1,974 property deals in Metro Vancouver between June 10 and Aug. 1, but only 60 between Aug. 2 and Aug. 31. In September, detached home sales plummeted nearly 50 per cent in Metro Vancouver.
All B.C. property owners will receive their annual assessments in January, and BC Assessment is mailing notification letters to those owners who can expect a significant increase.
Assessor Jason Grant advised homeowners that the increase does not "automatically translate" to a similar increase in property taxes.
"Your taxes are actually affected by your assessment changes compared to the average change in your community," he said in the statement.
The agency's website will be updated on Jan. 3 with the latest assessment reports.
