Last year property values in Grand Forks saw a 33 per cent increase, according to annual assessments.
The average price of a home in the city was $363,000.
Greenwood properties experienced a 53 per cent increase in assessed value, an amount of $79,000.
Every January, property owners across British Columbia receive their annual assessment notice. BC Assessment is a provincial Crown corporation that classifies and values all real property in British Columbia. This assessment notice estimates the market value of your property as of July 1 of the previous year.
Professional appraisers analyze the sales in the local area, as well as the property’s size, age, quality, condition, view and location. Through the use of a single calendar date, a property’s assessed value is made fair, equitable and uniform compared to the other properties across British Columbia.
BC Assessment Deputy Assessor for the Kootenay Columbia Region, Sharlynn Hill, stated that this year’s assessment increases in certain communities may be due to the affordability and supply of homes in regions such as Cranbrook, Greenwood, Grand Forks and Canal Flats.
“The mobility of work and people probably plays a bit of an influence…You don’t have to live necessarily in the larger centers to work in some of the larger companies,” Hill said.
Hill reminded the public that “changes in property assessments reflect changes in the local real estate market.” The vast majority of British Columbia saw record low housing supplies, low interest rates and robust property demand, which put upward pressure on real estate and the market value of homes.
Homeowners are reminded that assessments do not automatically translate into a corresponding increase in property taxes. Hill explained that the assessment notice shows how assessment changes, relative to the average change in a community, is what may affect property taxes. There is an interactive public map on the BC Assessment website that can be accessed to review all property tax and assessment values across the province. For additional information or questions about your 2021 assessment, visit info.bcassessment.ca.
– By Felicia Ochs