BC Assessment has dropped annual property value assessments in the mail and released its lists of the most highly-valued homes in the province.
No Richmond houses made the list of top-500 homes in B.C. (many of those were in Vancouver or Surrey), but there are still some luxurious Richmond properties that are among the top 100 highest-valued in the Fraser Valley region (which BC Assessment includes Richmond in).
The highest valued home in Richmond is 12911 No 3 Road, a five-bedroom, nine-bathroom house behind a wrought iron gate on a 18-acre lot. The Gilmore-area home is valued at $9.98 million, down from $12.4 million last year.
In second place is 13511 No 4 Road. It’s a home on a 27-acre property pegged at $9 million, down from $10.2 million last year.
Coming in third is a 6-acre plot of land with no apparent home on it, with a value of $6.9 million.
All three properties are in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Being in the ALR tends to depress assessed value since, compared to a non-ALR property, there is no potential for development, said Brian Smith, deputy Fraser Valley assessor.
Like these lavish properties, most single-family homes in Richmond saw their assessed values dip. The average fell from $1.57 million in 2017 to $1.53 million in 2018, a decrease of two per cent.
Average assessed condo values, on the other hand, increased by nine per cent. The average value of a Richmond condo is now $654,000.
The assessed values released on Jan. 2 reflect the property’s assessed value as of July 1, 2018.
"Single family homes are carrying higher price tag, and there are not as many people that can pay those prices right now. People are turning to different housing options and looking at the townhouse and condo market,” Smith said.
That’s evidenced by the amount of new construction in the city to add more condos, he added.
Richmond already had the most expensive condos in the Fraser Valley region in 2017, and the further increase in assessed values this year has cemented that.
Smith added it’s important to look at the per cent increase of your property’s assessed value and compare it to homes around you. On average, homes in Richmond increased in value by 2.6 per cent. If your home increased in value more than that, you may face a tax increase.
This video from the City of Richmond explains the relationship between your assessment and your property taxes.
