Assessed home values in Metro Vancouver see spike in latest BC Assessment

Jan 4 2021, 7:38 pm

The latest property assessment roll performed by BC Assessment shows average assessed residential property values have increased compared to the previous cycle.

The provincial crown corporation stated in a release today that property owners across BC will receive their 2021 assessment notices over the coming days, which reflect market value as of July 1, 2020.

Except for the decrease of 1% in the University Endowment Lands, every jurisdiction within the Lower Mainland saw an increase in their average assessed single-family home values — returning them closer to pre-2019 values.

The most significant increase with single-family homes was in Vancouver, where the 2021 assessment value rose by 10% from $1.567 million in 2020 to $1.717 million in the latest cycle.

Single-family homes also saw substantial increases in Squamish (+10% to $1.026 million), Port Coquitlam (+8% to $944,000), Mission (+8% to $706,000), North Vancouver District (+7% to $1.578 million), North Vancouver City (+7% to $1.452 million), Langley Township (+7% to $986,000), Abbotsford (+7% to $779,000), Richmond (+6% to $1.405 million), Delta (+6% to $968,000), Maple Ridge (+6% to $814,000), Chilliwack (+6% to $627,000), and Surrey (+5% to $1.062 million).

Within the stratified residential category of condominiums and townhouses, there were generally smaller increases across the Lower Mainland jurisdictions, with the average assessed value rising by 6% to $732,000 in North Vancouver District, 5% to $690,000 in North Vancouver City, 5% to $457,000 in Maple Ridge, 4% to $506,000 in Port Coquitlam, 4% to $561,000 in Coquitlam, 3% to $711,000 in Vancouver, 3% to $588,000 in Burnaby, and 3% to $510,000 in Surrey.

This reverses much of the losses in the previous roll; assessed values for residential properties in the region saw a tumble in the roll as of July 1, 2019, falling by as much as in the double digits in Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands.

“Despite COVID-19, the Lower Mainland residential real estate market has been resilient,” said BC Assessment deputy assessor Bryan Murao in a statement.

“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.”

Commercial and industrial property markets have been “more varied with both decreases and increases depending on the specific sector,” with industrial properties generally seeing continued increases due to high demand for such spaces. Even with the impacts of COVID-19, the changes in the commercial market, such as office and retail, have been moderate.

Overall within the Lower Mainland, total assessments across all property types have increased from about $1.41 trillion in 2020 to about $1.46 trillion in 2021, with more than $15 billion of the increase attributed to new construction, subdivisions, and rezonings.

The total number of properties in the 2021 roll across BC is 2,114,885, representing a 1% increase from the previous roll. This combined worth is about $2.01 trillion — a 4.2% increase from 2020.

About 88% of all properties in BC are classified with some residential component.

Kenneth ChanKenneth Chan

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