BC Assessment has updated its database, but has warned property owners that the value listed for their properties may not be what they are worth today.
Homeowners can now check the BC Assessment Authority website to see their home’s value as of July 1, 2022.
But the value comes with a caveat: the reported value will likely be higher than the home’s current value.
To check your home’s value, go to bcassessment.ca and search the address. The authority will release full details of property value increases across the province on January 4.
An appraisal is an estimate of a property’s market value as of July 1 and physical condition as of October 31. To determine value, appraisers consider an area’s sales, as well as size, age, quality, condition, view and location. of a property.
Home prices across Canada increased by 34% between July 2020 and July 2021. This growth continued beyond July 2021 into early 2022; however, as inflation began to take hold, the government responded by raising interest rates, which has dampened the housing market.
As a result, BC Assessment has advised property owners that their property value in July 2022 could be different from the reality of the current housing market.
Jeff Tisdale, CEO of Landcor Data Corporation, says sales data shows BC’s real estate market hit a “consensus peak” in March 2022 and has been falling, both in sales numbers and prices, since that the assessments were made in July.
In January 2022, property owners in Greater Victoria saw their annual property assessments increase by an average of 22 to 35 per cent, which could happen again this year for some property owners, Councilor Bryan Murao told the Times Colonist in early December.
The assessment authority has sent advance notice letters to a small number of properties around BC warning them that they could experience an increase or decrease in value outside the normal range, including those facing an increase or a decrease of 30 to 40 percent.
Changes in assessed value do not necessarily mean a change in the amounts paid in property taxes; what affects individual property taxes are assessment changes relative to the average change in your community. A higher-than-average increase could lead to higher taxes, while a higher-than-average drop could lower them.
Those who feel their property assessments do not reflect market value as of July 1 can appeal, but Murao said the assessment authority does not expect to see a large increase in the number of owners challenging their assessments this year.
Each year, more than 98% of property owners accept their property appraisals without a formal, independent review.
Murao said one reason for the low appeal rate is that the public seems to have an understanding of the relationship between assessed values and property taxes.
— With a file from the Vancouver Sun