Floods erased $405M in home values
City figures put number on loss of property wealth
When the city’s annual assessment notices arrive at flood-damaged houses — or to the forwarded addresses of houses still uninhabitable, more than half a year later — it will tell homeowners what they already know.
But it puts a figure on the loss of property wealth. Homes hit by June’s flood shed an average of $208,870 in assessed value, according to figures the city released Friday.
It amounts to $405 million in overall residential value washed out of 1,939 properties.
James Maxim hadn’t expected to want to sell his 4,000-square-foot home in Rideau Park for several years. The June flood wiped out the basement he’d spent months upgrading, and the city has calculated a 19 per cent decline from last year’s assessed value.
It felt like a gut punch, the former council candidate said.
“You put a lot of money and work into your home, and then you see it wiped away.”
The plunge in assessment looked like a “black mark” on his property, the sort that could make sales difficult for neighbours who do want to sell, or who rely on their home as a key asset.
Among the 289 single-family homes in Rideau-Roxboro, all but a dozen suffered losses substantially beyond the city norm. The median value in Maxim’s neighbourhood is $300,000 less than last year.
But for those who aren’t selling, like Maxim, their assessment will at least bring them lower property taxes than most Calgarians.
The plunge in flood-zone assessments doesn’t mean any typical Calgarian can suddenly rush into the millionaires’ neighbourhoods along Elbow River and buy cheap. The Herald checked assessments on a riverside block of Roxboro and one on East Elbow Park. Only one home is assessed below $1 million, and several are still at $2 million or higher.
ReMax realtor Rob Parker said sale prices and listings were already down in the Elbow Park-Roxboro area, and the city’s property assessments would make little difference.
“Buyers have already spoken as to what they think the values in the neighbourhoods are.
“The assessments really aren’t saying anything to anybody that wasn’t already clear.”
A lack of financing was the biggest problem in many potential sales, he said. “Even the banks are waiting to see what the move-forward measures are.”
Parker was confident things would improve when flood mitigation measures became clear, removing any stigma around riverside land. Many online listings for the area started with a disclaimer the property was not affected by the flood.
The $405-million loss to homes amounted to a 0.2 per cent reduction to the overall property values for Calgary. Council voted last month to use reserves to absorb the loss on property taxes that would cause.
Last year, the province offered to buy homes in the floodway based on 2013 assessed property values. Provincewide, 254 homeowners were offered buyouts — 50 in Calgary — but fewer than half expressed interest. Those who refuse buyouts will not qualify for disaster recovery program compensation when future floods strike.