Property assessment notices in the mail as B.C. sees values increase again

Property assessments totalling trillions of dollars are in the mail – and despite B.C.'s real estate market dragging in recent months, homeowners are likely to see values rise.

Two years ago a waterfront property on King George Terrace near downtown Victoria would have started a bidding war, according to realtor Holly Lee. She said that's when there were fewer listings.

Lee says buyers like certainty, and interest rates have led to some unknowns. Still, she says that's not a bad thing.

"We are in more of a balanced market right now, so things are taking a little bit longer to sell," she told CTV News.

Much of that is due to interest rate hikes meant to combat runaway inflation. BC Assessment acknowledges that is having an impact on the market.

"We know that the market has, you know, it's fallen a bit from the peak last spring," said Bryan Murao, assessor for the Lower Mainland.

Home valuations, which are being mailed out by BC Assessment this week, won't reflect the softening market. They are based on an assessment date of July 1, 2022.

According to Murao, the analysis shows most Metro Vancouver house and condo owners will see a nine per cent rise. In the Fraser Valley, houses increased about 10 per cent, condos and townhomes15 per cent.

Murao, who has done this work for more than 15 years, says he's not surprised by the data, but he did find one thing interesting.

"Even the quote-unquote, ‘more affordable’ price points within downtown Vancouver still didn't move very much. So it's maybe a bit more of that trend of people getting out of the densest areas of the city," Murao said.

That's a trend UBC Sauder School of Business associate professor Tom Davidoff also sees. The data shows Squamish and Whistler prices rising eight and 11 per cent, respectively.

"You can get more housing for your money. High amenity, not great commutes – but commuting became less of a big deal during COVID," Davidoff said.

Lee added for many years, the assessed value was lower than market value.

"Now we're catching up," she said.

The home valuations will be part of the formula used to calculate 2023 property taxes. BC Assessment points out if your property value change is lower than the average for your property class, taxes will likely decrease. If it's higher then taxes will likely decrease.

That's not the only calculation though.

"Your property tax is determined by two things," explained Davidoff. "One, how much money does your city government spend? And two, what is your share of total property value in your community? So if everybody in your community sees an assessment that's 10 per cent too high, then it doesn't matter."

It won't matter because you won't see an increase to your property taxes. However, he says it will mater if the assessment pushes your home value above $3 million – that's when the additional school tax kicks in.

The most expensive home in the province is valued at more than $74 million and is owned by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson.

The assessment went up by just over one percent, while most Vancouver houses increased by about six per cent.

So according to that formula, Wilson's tax bill could decrease. It will likely still be around the $200,000 mark.