5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PROPERTY ASSESSMENT

Increases to your Property Assessment - a rousing topic every January, and this year, not really a surprise that 2017 Assessments are considerably higher than they were in 2016.   If you haven't yet received your 2017 Property Assessment, you will shortly.  Whether buying, selling, or just home-owning, here are 5 important things to know:

(1) Property Assessments do NOT necessarily equal market value

(2) Just because your Assessment went up, doesn’t mean your TAXES will increase.  And, if your taxes increase, it’s not just because your property assessment increased!

(3) BC Assessment uses a mass appraisal system, which calculates property value by evaluating prices for homes sold in each neighborhood and then applies the information to arrive at an assessed value.  This information is typically obtained from MLS sales, NOT by visiting the properties in question.  BC Assessment has approximately 650 full-time staff positions in 17 offices throughout the province.  They can’t possibly visit every residence.

(4) The most important factor is the TIME at which a property is assessed.  A 2017 assessment notice is BCA’s estimate of a property’s market value as of July 1, 2016, which is 6 month’s prior to you receiving your assessment.  (and the reason why a REALTOR®’s market value can be different – as it reflects the current state of the market).

(5) BCA’s Market value assessment is for tax purposes only.  It is widely considered to be the fairest system for distributing the property tax burden.  As the real estate market can change very quickly, depending on an historical assessment (July assessment for next year’s tax purposes) to be an accurate indicator of market value can be erroneous.

Bonus #1-

Here are the median price increases in North Vancouver :

                   July 2015 - July 2016                         Dec 2015 – Dec 2016

                   (Assessment period)                          (Year over year data)

Detached              22% ↑                                                  7% ↑

Attached              25% ↑                                                   6% ↑

Apartments         19% ↑                                                 26%  ↑

Bonus #2 –

Here is a service that you may find helpful – available each New Year until March, where you can view details on a single property, compare neighbouring properties, and compare sales information. http://evaluebc.bcassessment.ca/