Grand Forks property owners will soon receive their property assessment notices for 2012.
Where other regions in British Columbia see a fluctuation in assessments, the South Okanagan region remains relatively the same.
According to a news release, the Grand Forks 2012 assessment roll remains the same as 2011 at $217,000, where as Greenwood will see a slight decrease from $136,000 to $129,000.
In Midway, property assessment dropped from $198,000 to $191,000. Numbers for Christina Lake were not provided in the news release.
“We didn’t break it down to include Christina Lake for this year,” explained Tracy Wall, deputy assessor from BC Assessment Okanagan region. “We just looked at all the municipalities.”
According to BC Assessment, assessments are the estimate of a property’s market value as of July 1, 2011 and the physical condition as of Oct. 31, 2011.
“We base our values as of July 1 of every year,” said Wall. “We look at the sales, what the property has been selling for at that evaluation date and we report what the market is doing.”
Wall noted that most homes in the South Okanagan are remaining stable with some communities rising slightly and others decreasing slightly in value compared to last year’s assessment roll.
Along with Grand Forks and Greenwood, this range includes Penticton, Summerland, Keremeos, Midway, Oliver, Osoyoos and Princeton.
BC Assessment’s appraisers who observe current sales within the area – and its size, age, quality, condition, view and location – make estimates of property values.
“Property owners who feel that their property assessment does not reflect market value as of July 1, 2011 or see incorrect information on their notice should contact our office as indicated on their notice as soon as possible,” stated Wall.
“If a property owner is still concerned about their assessment after speaking to one of our appraisers, they may submit a Notice of Complaint (Appeal) by Jan. 31, for an independent review by a Property Assessment Review Panel.”
Appointed by the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, the Property Assessment Review Panels, which are independent of BC Assessment, meet between Feb. 1 and Mar. 15 to hear formal complaints.
For more information, visit bcassessment.ca.