Kelowna property values up 10 to 20%

Homes on market priced average of 10% above assessed value

Homes in the Kelowna area are priced an average of 10.3 per cent more than their assessed value.

The discrepancy is most apparent at the upper end of the market, where some current listings show an asking price 30 per cent higher than the property’s assessed value.

In the starter home and condo market, however, the spread between asking and assessed value is much narrower, sometimes as little as two per cent.

Homeowners across B.C. can now go online and see what their property was worth on July 1, 2017, in the estimation of the B.C. Assessment Authority.

Owners of single-family homes in Kelowna can expect a 10-20 per cent increase in the valuation of their home, BC Assessment said last month.

By contrast, home values in most areas of Vancouver will have experienced only “nominal changes in the zero to five per cent range,” BC Assessment said.

Last January, the average singlefamily home in Kelowna had an assessed value of $624,000, up 11 per cent from the year before. The most expensive homes in the Okanagan were in Lake Country, where the average assessed value was $634,000.

On New Year’s Day, using the newly released online data, The Daily Courier looked at the assessed value of 12 randomly selected properties currently for sale in the Kelowna area. That valuation was compared with the asking price listed for the property. Here are the results:

1. Unit 307 at 3160 De Montreuil Court, a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in the Creekside Court complex, has an assessed value of $243,700. The asking price is $258,000.

2. Unit 49 at 9020 Jim Bailey Rd., a manufactured home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, has an assessed value of $273,000. It’s listed for $279,000.

3. Unit 305 at 3220 Skyview Lane in West Kelowna, in the Copper Sky condo complex, has an assessed value of $292,000. It’s for sale for $300,000.

4. Unit 411 at 2070 Boucherie Rd. in West Kelowna, in the Tuscany Villas condo complex, has an assessed value of $289,000. Its asking price is $325,000.

5. Unit 203 at 3735 Casorso Rd. in Kelowna’s Lower Mission neighbourhood has an assessed value of $384,000. It’s listed for sale at $414,900.

6. A single-family home at 1250 Bernard Ave., built in 1966, has five bedrooms and two bathrooms. It has an assessed value of $474,000 and is listed for sale at $565,000.

7. A home built in 1971 at 881 McKenzie Ave. in South Rutland has an assessed value of $650,000, but it’s currently for sale for $614,900.

This was the only home on the list of 12 looked at by The Daily Courier that is priced below its assessed value.

8. A single-family home with four bedrooms and four bathrooms in the Upper Mission neighbourhood of South Crest Drive has an assessed value of $631,000. It’s for sale for $700,000.

9. A home at 813 Birch Ave. in South Kelowna, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, has an assessed value of $578,000. It’s for sale for $750,000.

10. In Southeast Kelowna, a home built in 1996 with three bedrooms and three bathrooms has an assessed value of $733,000. It’s for sale, with a listing price of $824,900.

11. In Peachland, a five-bedroom, four-bathroom home built in 2012 has an assessed value of $780,000. It’s listed for sale at $859,000.

12. A four-bedroom, four-bathroom home on Casa Grande Drive in West Kelowna has an assessed value of $828,000. Built in 1992, it’s currently for sale, with an asking price of $959,000.

Assessments are based on sales of similar properties, as well as a home’s size, age, quality, condition, view and location.