Property values rise 5-35% across BC

If you own a home in the province, chances are the value has gone up.

BC Assessment came out with its property value assessments for the 2022 year, and it looks like numbers are up across most of BC.

“Those are based on July 1st, 2021 last year, and we’re looking at increases generally 5 to 35%, with a few exceptions across most communities,” said Beau Rossel, the Regional Deputy Assessor.

Rossel noted that the real estate market has increased, especially since the early days of COVID-19 when the numbers were low.

He added that not only sales have gone up, but also prices for homes.

The assessments are used for taxation purposes, and Rossel said municipalities use the total base of residential properties and use it for budgeting purposes.

“So for an individual property owner, if your property is increasing in value it doesn’t necessarily mean that the taxes are going to increase by the same amount. What you really need to do is compare yourself to the average.”

He said people will start to see that impact more in the spring.

“So if you have a property value, and it’s increased below the average, there is a possibility that the taxes could decrease, there’s a possibility that they could stay the same, and there’s the possibility that they could increase. It’s really reliant on what the (municipality) chooses to do.”

“So the majority of residential properties in Prince George have increased about 10-30%, so right around that 19 or 20% average that we are seeing,” added Rossel.

Looking at some of the averages around Northern BC:

• Prince George is seeing a 19.30% average increase
• Vanderhoof is seeing a 14.9% average increase
• Burns Lake is seeing a 20.5% average increase
• Quesnel is seeing a 28.6% average increase
• Williams Lake is seeing a 25.2% average increase

Rossel said people should receive their assessment notice within the next week, but if they don’t, they can reach out to BC Assessment.