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
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.