How much is a private island in Howe Sound worth? B.C. assessment appeal board weighs in
The corporate owner of a private island near Vancouver has successfully appealed the assessed value of the property.
North Growth Management, Ltd., appealed the 2021 assessment of Popham Island, a roughly 45-acre island in the mouth of Howe Sound, located approximately five kilometres south of Gibsons, B.C., on the Sunshine Coast, and 20 kilometres from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.
The island was assessed at $4,464,000 in 2021, but the company argued before the Property Assessment Appeal Board that this figure was more than double the island's actual value.
PAAB panel chair Allan Beatty did not accept the company's proposed $2,134,000 assessment for the island, but he did reduce the assessed value in his decision on the case, which was issued last week.
According to Beatty's decision, North Growth reached its estimate for the value of the property by looking at seven sales of private islands in B.C. dating back to January 2014.
The company used these sale values to estimate a price-per-acre for each one, then selected an actual value of about $51,000 per acre for its property.
"It is not clear in the appellant’s submission how this figure was calculated," Beatty wrote in his decision.
The board chair noted that the company neglected to make any adjustments to the sale prices of the comparable properties it had identified, arguing that such adjustments were not necessary.
"According to the appellant, the moderation in overall prices paid for larger private islands is due in part to the increased cost associated with owning this type of property, including costs for building materials, rising fuel prices and costs associated with water access," Beatty wrote.
"More recently, the appellant says that the introduction of the vacancy tax and additional school tax on high-value properties also contributes to a generally lower demand and stable to declining prices for private island property."
For its part, the assessor for Area 8 – Vancouver Sea to Sky Region argued that adjustments to the prices of comparable sales were necessary.
After accounting for time since the most recent sale and various other factors related to comparable islands' locations and characteristics, the assessor concluded that the actual value of Popham Island should be in the vicinity of $120,000 per acre.
Beatty was also unsatisfied with the assessor's calculations. While he concluded that a time adjustment was necessary, he determined that the assessor's was too high.
The board chair found all of the parties' other arguments to be lacking substantive data.
"Both parties rely on qualitative approaches to reconcile the data except for the time adjustment, which I have already ruled on," Beatty wrote.
"I find it notable that both parties are critical of each other but do not provide me with market-supported evidence or analysis to choose one party’s evidence over the other."
Ultimately, based on his own calculation of the appropriate time adjustment for comparable sales, Beatty settled on a price-per-acre of $80,000, resulting in a revised assessment of $3.6 million for the island.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it’s too late
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.