Kimberley property owners will be receiving their annual property value assessments from BC Assessments early in January.
Tina Ireland from BC Assessments says that overall, there should be a moderating market, with more moderate changes in property values.
“We first saw signs of moderation during the 2019 property assessments,” said Ireland. “For 2020 assessments, we are seeing a continued ripple effect of a moderating market expanding across the province.”
“Changes in property assessments really depend on where you live,” says Ireland. “For example, assessed values of homes in many areas of Metro Vancouver will see a softening in value, while other markets and areas of the province will see minimal change and even modest increases over last year’s values.”
For Kootenay Columbia, homes are estimated to rise from 0 to 15 per cent, depending on the community.
An interactive map on the BC Assessment website shows property values in Kimberley continuing to rise, having gained over 10 per cent from July 1, to July 1 the following year.
When establishing the market value for a particular property, BC Assessment considers each property’s unique characteristics. These are the same characteristics that a home purchaser would consider, including size, layout, shape, age, finish, quality, number of carports, garages, sundecks and condition of buildings. Services in the area, location, views and neighbourhood may also influence a property’s market value. Also taken into account are recent sales of properties with similar characteristics. In the case of vacant land, newly constructed housing and substantially renovated housing, the sale price includes net Goods and Services tax.
When properties similar to your property are sold around July 1, those sales prices are used to calculate your assessed value,” said Ireland. “Our job is to make sure your assessment is fair and accurate as compared to your neighbours.”
Property owners receiving their assessment will often assume that an increase in their property assessment automatically translates into an increase in their property tax bill. This is not necessarily the case, since the determination of local tax rates is ultimately based on the budget requirements of the taxing authority, in this case the City of Kimberley, RDEK, School Board etc. It also depends on how close to the average your home price is. Assessed value is multiplied by Kimberley’s tax millrate to determine the actual taxes paid.