With the new year comes your new BC Assessment, which has prompted shock for many, many of you. BC Assessments are one of the most misunderstood elements of real estate in this province, so, what do you need to know? Should you be excited about an increase? I suspect all our readers saw a significant increase this year, considering the average value of a single-family home soared by 38% in Langley, 39% in Abbotsford, and 40% in Chilliwack. Should you be worried if you’re one of the few homeowners who’s BC Assessments dropped? Let’s shed some light below.
The Basics: BC Assessment is a publicly owned crown corporation charged with the responsibility of assessing property values across the province, they do this primarily using algorithms that process municipal data as their source information – that means it’s not the most accurate valuation, but it does serve its purpose. They attempt to calculate value as of July 1st from the previous year, in this case from July 1st 2021. Market value has climbed another 15-20% for many homes in the Lower Mainland even since then.
Your BC Assessment: If you’ve misplaced your BC Assessment you can find details here, https://www.bcassessment.ca/ You can also use that site to see how other properties’ BC Assessments compare, although the value of this information may not be that beneficial to you, for the reasons explained below.
Primary Use: Your BC Assessment is primarily for the purpose of calculating property taxes for your municipality. The municipality multiplies your property value against a mill rate, and that’s how your taxes are calculated. Because of that, just because your assessment may be significantly up from the previous year doesn’t mean your property taxes will automatically climb the same amount.
Accuracy: BC Assessment’s algorithms do their best to determine value, but they are rarely an accurate reflection of market value. Market value is, of course, determined by what someone is willing to pay. As an example, the first single family home to sell in Walnut Grove this year sold for $350,000 over assessed value. At the same time, historically we used to see properties with a market value six figures lower than their BC Assessment – although with recent appreciation this is very rare currently.
Appealing: As rare as it is today, if you do suspect your BC Assessed value may be higher than market value then you have until January 31st 2021 to appeal. This may be to your advantage as it may reduce your property taxes. See here for more details, https://info.bcassessment.ca/Services-products/appeals. If you are one of those rare cases, there is no need for concern that a drop in your BC Assessed value will impact your market value, this is not the case. Professional Realtors involved in real estate transactions are, in most cases, aware of the difference between BC Assessed value and actual market value.
Now more than ever if you are wondering how much your home is actually worth it is essential to have a professional market analysis compiled. If that’s something you’d like help with we’re happy to provide that market analysis at no expense. If you have any other questions about your home’s value or BC Assessment, don’t hesitate to reach out.