It’s the time of year when owners of more than 1,056,000 properties throughout Metro Vancouver receive their 2021 assessment notices which reflect market value as of July 1, 2020.
In Burnaby, the value of residential homes in the city jumped compared with the previous year.
According to numbers from BC Assessment, single-family homes in the City of Burnaby jumped in value by 6% - to $1,449,000 from $1,363,000. This is compared with a 10% increase in Vancouver and 5% in Surrey.
This despite a global pandemic.
"Despite COVID-19, the Lower Mainland residential real estate market has been resilient," said BC Assessment Deputy Assessor Bryan Murao. "For the most part, homeowners can expect relatively moderate increases in value. This incredible strength is a stark contrast to last spring when the market came to a temporary standstill whereas the remainder of the year had a very steady and rapid recovery."
"The commercial and industrial markets, however, have been much more varied with both decreases and increases depending upon the specific sector," adds Murao. "While commercial sales activity has remained low, value changes have been moderate across many property types."
BC Assessment collects, monitors and analyzes property data throughout the year.
For strata homes, the increase in value was 3% - to $588,000 from $571,000.
The most valuable property in Burnaby is the home of music superstar Michael Bublé.
According to BC Assessment’s latest figures, Bublé’s home at 7868 Government Rd. has been assessed at 22,279,000 – more than a $1.7 million jump from the $20,506,000 it was assessed at the beginning of 2020.
For the Lower Mainland region, the overall total assessments have increased from about $1.41 trillion in 2020 to about $1.46 trillion this year. Over $15 billion of the region's updated assessments is from new construction, subdivisions and rezoning of properties. BC Assessment's Lower Mainland region includes all of Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley as well as the Sea to Sky area and the Sunshine Coast.
BC Assessment's website at bcassessment.ca includes more details about 2021 assessments, property information and trends such as lists of 2021's top valued residential properties across the province.
The website also provides self-service access to a free, online property assessment search service that allows anyone to search, check and compare 2021 property assessments for anywhere in the province. Property owners can unlock additional property search features by registering for a free BC Assessment custom account to check a property's 10-year value history, store/access favourites, create comparisons, monitor neighbourhood sales, and use our interactive map.
"Property owners can find a lot of valuable information on our website including answers to many assessment-related questions, but those who feel that their property assessment does not reflect market value as of July 1, 2020 or see incorrect information on their notice, should contact BC Assessment as indicated on their notice as soon as possible in January," said Murao.
"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 February 1st, for an independent review by a Property Assessment Review Panel," adds Murao.
The Property Assessment Review Panels, independent of BC Assessment, are appointed annually by the provincial government, and typically meet between February 1 and March 15 to hear formal complaints.
"It is important to understand that changes in property assessments do not automatically translate into a corresponding change in property taxes," explains Murao. "As noted on your Assessment Notice, how your assessment changes relative to the average change in your community is what may affect your property taxes."
