2023 Property Assessments are now available.

[wildmanyeah]

seems like in my area people that got hit with a big increase last year got a small one this year and thoes that had a small or average one last year got a big one this year.

probably just how sales moved though the market

 

[Aquaholic]

 

[pescador]

How much over assessed value do homes normally go for? Science/data and real world experience pls. I have a number in mind but would like to hear from others with experience. And, in a land assemble deal, say multiple homes on my street being bought, how much over assessment would one expect In terms of a premium?

 

[Gong Show]

How much over assessed value do homes normally go for? Science/data and real world experience pls. I have a number in mind but would like to hear from others with experience. And, in a land assemble deal, say multiple homes on my street being bought, how much over assessment would one expect In terms of a premium?

Outside of Victoria on the island or used to be assessed plus 20%.

 

[Gong Show]

Since the pandemic, it is nearly impossible to make an accurate conversion.

 

[Aquaholic]

You seem to be putting too much emphasis on the assessed value. If you were to buy a house and get a mortgage, or a line of credit, or re-finance, why doesn't your bank just use the easily available and free assessed value? Because it is not market value, and the banks want market value. Even when the July assessed values are determined 6 months earlier, they are from a mass appraisal method, not a one by one (single) appraisal method. Single appraisal will be used if you appeal your assessment though. It would not be possible to do single appraisal for 2,160,828 properties.

Land assembly, it is based on "land residual value" which is much higher than market value. It is a reverse valuation method where they take the projected total sale amount from the potential finished development project (say 60 condos of various sizes) on the assembled land, and then they start backing out all the costs until they are finally left with what the land is worth...and that gets divided by the number of lots (if all lots are equal) or by a multiplier to determine who gets what. Some corner lots may get a bit more or one lot might be wider/deeper. You need a lawyer to act for the group in this case and you need to see the projected sales numbers and land residual value. ie how did they come up with that number. Nothing to do with assessed value.

There have been times when homes will sell for much less than assessed values. Again, assessed is not market value.

You can look at other land assemblies in your area and see what they went for, however the zoning and allowed type of development will make a difference, so try to find something similar. Land assembly seems to be the biggest boost potential to a property value.

 

[tinboatrobb]

Keep in mind that the assessment was done last spring so it is not a true reflection of today's market. This was mentioned on the news today

 

[Aquaholic]

Keep in mind that the assessment was done last spring so it is not a true reflection of today's market. This was mentioned on the news today

July, not the spring.

"If you are a property owner in British Columbia, you will receive an assessment notice in January that shows the assessed value of your property as of July 1 of the previous year. As a property owner, it is important to understand what information to look for on your assessment notice".

 

[Thunder21]

Mines down 60k . Seems about right for this area. It started slowing down in March or so last year. I’m hoping to find a bargain in 2023 but so far prices are still high.

 

[ab1752]

The wag rule of thumb folks used to toss around was 10% over assessment but that's such an unsupported statement it's ridiculous. Still, in our area on the north shore, nothing is for sale and when it comes up, it's gone quickly. See if it holds up or not, I know our assessment has increased about 10% but they still show prerebuild data which is fine with me.

 

[Bill 310]

An increase in your assessed value it does not automatically mean your taxes are going to jump up a proportionate amount. One thing I would caution about challenging your assessment is what if an agreement can’t be reached….would they send an appraiser by? and if you have done any work without permits, that will get added to your dwelling value and then your taxes would definitely go up. Every year BC assessment combs the city records where you reside and looks for building permits with values attached to them. If you have done a huge renovation without permits, and City Hall does not know about it, BC assessment does not know either, but they will be able to see the improvements if they send someone in person. Then you can count on an increase in your dwelling value on your assessment.

Good point, fortunately we are straight shooters and any work done when we bought the house was done with permits .

Years ago my late wife was the Chair of an Assessment Board. They did a lot of inspections (about half of the appeal)s if I remember correctly.

They went out to inspect quite a few of the appeals and someone in the group claimed their lot had sink holes. BC Assessment was saying not possible they went out to visit the property and while they were there a sink hole opened up and one of the people fell a few feet.

People that go to the Committee with a well laid out case seem to do ok.

It is important to not fall into the trap of keeping the assessment officer assigned to your appeal apprised of your arguments in advance.

 

[Bill 310]

The wag rule of thumb folks used to toss around was 10% over assessment but that's such an unsupported statement it's ridiculous. Still, in our area on the north shore, nothing is for sale and when it comes up, it's gone quickly. See if it holds up or not, I know our assessment has increased about 10% but they still show prerebuild data which is fine with me.

It is all BS to some degree. We have the smallest lot in our area. BC Assessment has had a hard time explaining how the value of a smaller lot is worth more than the value of a larger lot on a per square foot basis -especially when every lot is built to the max and house size is a big part of total value.

Every lot on our street had an assessed land value of X dollars per square foot (+/- 8%) except for our lot which was $1.83 X per square foot.

My argument was a smaller lot cannot be worth more than a larger lot.

BC Assessment made a statement during our appeal one year that this was not correct.

I had found 3 very small lots that were under 500 sq feet on our street backing that were owned by the District. They were assessed at something like .1/20th per square foot of the neighborhood average lot value per square foot.

We were successful in our appeal and starting the next year those lots were no longer shown on the Assessment rolls.

It helps if you ask for the comparable properties and go and make notes /take photos.

We now have a senior staffer assigned to our file every year in case I appeal and the comparable homes are closer

I think my next step will be to do an FOI request on our file,

I would like to read the internal communication/emails on our file and see what the staff are writing in their notes / internal emails about our appeals and if they show bias.

 

[wildthing]

Bought our half acre lot in 2002 in Gibsons ,sunshine coast sale price $128, 000.
now last year

Previous year value Land $900,000 Buildings $1,043,000 $1,943,000

Land $1,092,000 Buildings $1,115,000 $2,207,000

and you wonder why my hourly charge back then was $25-35 its now only $50-60
something wrong with that picture?

 

[Aquaholic]

Bought our half acre lot in 2002 in Gibsons ,sunshine coast sale price $128, 000.
now last year

Previous year value Land $900,000 Buildings $1,043,000 $1,943,000

Land $1,092,000 Buildings $1,115,000 $2,207,000

and you wonder why my hourly charge back then was $25-35 its now only $50-60
something wrong with that picture?

Did your taxes owed to the city go up accordingly?

On another note, I know owners that fought for a higher assessment due to some Buyers who try to use the assessment amount as a bargaining chip.

 

[Wondermur]

Pretty small changes in Vancouver City as we didn’t get the big increases the rest of bc got. House up 1% and condo up 5%

 

[Corey_lax]

Did your taxes owed to the city go up accordingly?

On another note, I know owners that fought for a higher assessment due to some Buyers who try to use the assessment amount as a bargaining chip.

Haha my wife wanted to ask for a higher assessment on our place and I told her hell no because it will just raise property taxes for us. Our house is listed as one bathroom even though I'm pretty sure it always had two bathrooms. I'm hoping to be done selling places and don't need to raise the assessed value.. The land we had in Ucluelet doubled in 2-3 years since selling, and I'm scared to look at what the Whistler property is worth now.

Doug, our land value at home is $100k less than our neighbors place. Same size lots, but we are the end of the street. Can you think of a reason that the end of the street would be worth less? I thought it would be worth more.

 

[Aquaholic]

Haha my wife wanted to ask for a higher assessment on our place and I told her hell no because it will just raise property taxes for us. Our house is listed as one bathroom even though I'm pretty sure it always had two bathrooms. I'm hoping to be done selling places and don't need to raise the assessed value.. The land we had in Ucluelet doubled in 2-3 years since selling, and I'm scared to look at what the Whistler property is worth now.

Doug, our land value at home is $100k less than our neighbors place. Same size lots, but we are the end of the street. Can you think of a reason that the end of the street would be worth less? I thought it would be worth more.

Higher assessed value doesn't relate to a 1:1 tax increase though. The calculations are based on the mil rate (latin for 1000) which is the amount of tax owing per $1000.

Is your lot a corner lot?
Does it have a street beside it or greenbelt?
Is the comp lot a true rectangle and your is slightly angled? (common at the end of a block)
Is the comp lot typical of others on the street, or also 100K less than them?

We often see a lower assessed value from having a bus stop due to a side street, a ditch typical to Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, having more traffic, road noise, and dust from a side street, or the aforementioned slight angle for the "make up" lot as reasons why. Conversely, builders often like a corner lot due to more natural light from side windows, and having the neighbour separated further by the street, but tax assessors can show it as less as mentioned or if it has been challenged for reasons mentioned.

 

[Corey_lax]

Higher assessed value doesn't relate to a 1:1 tax increase though. The calculations are based on the mil rate (latin for 1000) which is the amount of tax owing per $1000.

Is your lot a corner lot?
Does it have a street beside it or greenbelt?
Is the comp lot a true rectangle and your is slightly angled? (common at the end of a block)
Is the comp lot typical of others on the street, or also 100K less than them?

We often see a lower assessed value from having a bus stop due to a side street, a ditch typical to Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, having more traffic, road noise, and dust from a side street, or the aforementioned slight angle for the "make up" lot as reasons why. Conversely, builders often like a corner lot due to more natural light from side windows, and having the neighbour separated further by the street, but tax assessors can show it as less as mentioned or if it has been challenged for reasons mentioned.

It's not a corner lot. Dead end of the street with greenbelt beside. Same size rectangular lot as everything else on the street. Every house on our street is approximately $100K more, except mine and the house across the street. There are streets that run parallel to ours that are the same situation with the dead end being $100K less than lots with neighboring houses.