The latest numbers from BC Assessment show many detached homes in Metro Vancouver dropping in value as condos continue trending upward.
The 2019 property assessments being mailed out to homeowners this week reveal some single-family homes had declined by as much as 15 per cent as of the July 1, 2018 assessment date. Scroll down or click here to view the results by municipality on an interactive map.
The average assessed value of detached homes in Vancouver fell by four per cent, from $1.83 million to $1.76 million – a noted change of pace for the city's once out-of-control real estate market.
"The majority of residential home owners within the region can expect a modest change compared to last year's assessment," deputy assessor Keith MacLean-Talbot said in a statement.
The drops affected some of Vancouver's most expensive mansions, which lost millions of dollars in assessed value. That includes the priciest residential property in the city, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson's palatial waterfront home in Point Grey, which fell from $78.8 million to $73.1 million.
The second-most expensive home, located near Belmont Avenue and Blanca Street, dropped in assessed value from $71.8 million to $65.4 million.
Burnaby also saw a four per cent drop in the average assed value for single-family homes, while West Vancouver recorded a decline of 12 per cent.
Other cities saw increases, however, including Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and Squamish, where average assessed values increase by between four and six per cent for detached homes.
There was even better news for homeowners in the Fraser Valley. Average assessed values for single-family homes increased 17 per cent in Hope, from $356,000 to $416,000, and by 10 per cent in Chilliwack, going from $559,000 to $613,000.
Meanwhile, most condo owners saw their values increase right across both Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley – in some cases by as much as 35 per cent.
According to BC Assessment, the average assessed value of condos in Abbotsford jumped by 28 per cent, from $275,000 up to $353,000. Langley saw a similar hike of 27 per cent.
Condo owners in Vancouver saw a comparatively small six per cent increase, from an average assessed value of $700,000 in July 2017 to $740,000 a year later.
Whistler and Squamish saw average condo value increases of 23 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively. Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and New Westminster all saw average assessed values increase by 12 to 16 per cent.
Overall, the updated assessments represent an increase of about $43 billion in value for BC Assessment's "Greater Vancouver" region, which includes most of Metro Vancouver, and $51 billion for the Fraser Valley.
The total assessed value now sits at $947 in Metro Vancouver and $540 billion in the valley.
While individual jumps in value might be concerning to some owners who are struggling to make ends meet, BC Assessment noted that changes in value don't "automatically translate into a corresponding increase in property taxes."
"How your assessment changes relative to the average change in your community is what may affect your property taxes," Maclean-Talbot said.
Anyone with a complaint about their new property assessment is encouraged to contact BC Assessment as soon as possible. Appeals must be filed by Jan. 31 for an independent assessment review.
To look up 2019 property assessments by address, visit the BC Assessment website.
The interactive map above shows the change in assessed value by municipality. Viewing this article on our mobile beta site? Check out a compatible version here.
