Despite an overall dip of 2.5% for British Columbia, lesser known and growing communities in the Interior will be seeing their assessed property value go up.
More than 147,5000 assessment notices have been mailed out by BC Assessment on Thursday. However, the general trend for each community has already been published online.
“The majority of Kootenay Columbia home owners can expect an increase when compared to last year’s assessments,” said Deputy Assessor Ramaish Shah in a media release. “The changes in home values are moderating in many cases as compared to the past several years. Some communities, however, are seeing higher demand than in previous years and that is reflected in this year’s assessments.”
All assessment notices for 2020 reflect values as of July, 1 2019. Compared to last year in the Kootenay Columbia region, the total assessment rose $3.1 billion to $46.7 billion. BC Assessment approximates that new construction, subdivisions and rezoning of properties make up a total of roughly $571 million.
The Kootenay Columbia region spans the southeast portion of the province from Grand Forks to Fernie and from Revelstoke to the Creston Valley.
The biggest spike in value can be seen in the Village of Salmo, where a typical single family home valued at $188,000 thousand dollars rose 20% to $225,000.
The City of Nelson only saw an increase of 2% but the average is still among the highest, values at $471,000. Strata residential properties in Nelson are a different story. Homeowners can expect to see a 9% increase from last year, making a typical $378,000 home worth $411,000 today.
The Town of Creston should expect an 11% spike wherein a $238,000 home will be now be valued at $263,000. The City of Castlegar’s single family home value rose 4%, and 5% for the City of Trail.
After several years of climbing property values in the Boundary, Grand Forks is among the communities with the smallest value shift with a 1% increase.
A common myth is that higher property values immediately equate to higher property taxes. But Shah explained how the system functions.
“It is important to understand that increases in property assessments do not automatically translate into a corresponding increase in property taxes,” said Shah. “As noted on your Assessment Notice, how your assessment changes relative to the average change in your community is what may affect your property taxes.”
With that, property owners are still able to contact BC Assessment if they believe the assessment is not accurate or unfair.
“If a property owner is still concerned about their assessment after speaking to one of our appraisers, they may submit a Notice of Complaint (Appeal) by January 31st, for an independent review by a Property Assessment Review Panel,” Shah added.
