Single-family home valuations up 10-20 per cent

Three-year averaging method lessens effect of spiking assessments

While single-family home valuations have increased on average between 10 per cent and 20 per cent in West Island municipalities, slightly under the Montreal agglomeration average, a sweeping equivalent tax hike across the board is not necessarily forthcoming, local civic officials assure.

In most West Island municipalities, like Beaconsfield, Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Pointe-Claire, overall single-home valuations increased in the 18 per cent to 20 per cent range, shows the new three-year prop- erty valuation roll released by the agglomeration last week.

In Senneville, however, single-family homes increased in value by about 10 per cent compared with the previous roll, with $906,500 being the average home value in the small town.

The average increase specifically for single-family homes in the agglomeration is 20.9 per cent.

Valuations for singlefamily homes in local Montreal boroughs ranged from 17.2 per cent in Île-Bizard– Ste-Geneviève to 25.2 per cent in St-Laurent.

Properties of all types in the Montreal agglomera- tion increased in valuation on the new tax roll by 19.5 per cent for a total of about $297 billion, with the overall residential average increase at 21.2 per cent and non-residential at 13.7 per cent.

Dollard Mayor Ed Janiszewski is hopeful his town could benefit from a higher average increase in total agglomeration property valuations. Since overall valuations across the island increased by 19.5 per cent and Dollard’s by 18 per cent, as it did in Pointe-Claire, there could be a slight decrease in the town’s annual contribution paid to the regional body, he said.

“We must await the agglo budget to see what our increase will be,” he said.

“Our single-family residences increase by 18.7 per cent, slightly higher than our (overall) average of 18 per cent,” he added. “However, every property rises by a different amount, so we have 50 per cent who increase by more than our average increase, the other 50 per cent by less than the average.”

While the overall agglomeration valuation increase is 19.5 per cent and the city of Montreal’s total property valuation increase is 19.7 per cent, most West Island cities recorded slightly lower total average property value hikes, including 6.8 per cent in Senneville, 12.2 per cent in Dorval and 18.5 per cent in Beaconsfield.

Mill rates used to calculate taxes are adjusted to meet a respective municipality’s annual budget and revenue projections that are usually tabled by city councils in December.

“When we calculate (the) tax rate, we calculate with a budget on our estimates on what we are going to collect in revenue for the year,” said Dominic Talarico, Dorval’s division chief of taxation and evaluation.

In the case of Dorval, Talarico points out the actual residential mill rate used to calculate tax bills has steadily decreased since 2006.

“The mill rate has been going down. The higher the valuation, the lower the mill rate,” he said.

Talarico said unless a residential property is assessed well over an average increase, it usually won’t face a huge increase in taxes paid.

There are also a small percentage of homes that increase in value well below the average valuation and may get a tax break as a result.

He anticipates since the average increase in value for condos in Dorval is 13.6 per cent, below that of single-family homes, condo owners may receive a comparative tax break.

“You may say you don’t want your tax evaluation to go up, but when you sell, you want that tax valuation to go up,” he remarked. “In the end of the day, it reflects what the properties are selling for in your area.

Higher “evaluations show there is prosperity, there is demand for their properties, that they are well maintained and it reflects on their evaluation,” he added.

“People complain because the valuations are used to calculate their tax. On average, in the last three years (Dorval taxes) have not gone up more than four or five per cent.”

A number of local municipalities, including Beaconsfield, Dollard and Dorval, utilize a three-year averaging method as an approach to lessen the impact of spiking home valuations.

Talarico also pointed out that non-residential properties — commercial and industrial properties — are generally taxed at a higher mill rate, sometimes as much as four times the residential rate that is applied to single-family homes and condos.

“There’s a significant amount of industry in Dorval,” he said, adding the Pierre E. Trudeau airport property presents a dynamic property tax base for his city. “Last year, they paid roughly $31 million,” he said of the airport property. “It has got the most influence in the tax bill of Dorval.”

The new valuations of residential and non-residential properties, which aim to reflect probable market value, will be used to calculate municipal and school taxes for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Actual tax bills will be set using these valuations based on mill rates set by respective municipal and public school authorities. Residents of reconstituted municipalities pay one civic tax bill, which includes the portion destined for the agglomeration to pay for regional costs.

School tax bills are issued separately from municipal taxes.