Expect property values to moderate

Market softening, report says

After years of dramatic increases in B.C.’s property assessments, expect to see something more moderate this year, with some Vancouver homes going down in value.

That’s according to B.C. Assessment, which said Thursday that it is seeing signs of moderation, as the real estate market softens in some areas of the province.

The soon-to-be-released 2019 property assessments are based on what was happening in the real estate market as of July 1.

Assessor Tina Ireland said changes in property assessments depend on where you live.

For example, she said, assessed values for detached single-family homes in many areas of Metro Vancouver may see a softening in value, while other markets and areas of the province will see modest increases over last year’s values.

B.C. Assessment says some Metro detached single-family homes were showing decreases in value of five to 10 per cent over last year, including in areas of Vancouver, the North Shore, South Surrey, White Rock, South Delta and Richmond.

The rest of the province can expect increases of five to 15 per cent for single-family homes.

This includes the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, Okanagan and the north.

In many parts of the central and northern Island, values increased closer to 20 per cent, the agency said. In Kitimat, the agency added, increases were even greater in response to activity within the resource sector.

B.C. Assessment says condos increased with typical values of 10 to 20 per cent across most of the province. Vancouver, the North Shore and Burnaby increases were slightly less than this range while the eastern Fraser Valley increases may be higher in some cases.

All B.C. homeowners should receive their annual property assessment notices in early January. B.C. Assessment will send out notification letters this month to property owners whose assessments are up more than the average change.