As we enter 2022, one of the first things to pop up is the release of the newest property assessments. Have you already checked out what your property assessment has done? If not, visit www.bcassessment.ca to see your newest value.

bc assessment releases 2022 assessment values

So, how does that value impact you? If you see a large increase, does that mean your property value increased by that same amount? Will your property taxes increase exponentially?

The short answer is no. Your property assessment is influenced by what the market has done in the past year, but it isn’t a direct correlation to what your property might be worth if you listed it today. Sometimes your fair market value is significantly different than your assessed value, whether higher or lower. It isn’t my favourite way to determine fair market value, but it has its place when going through the listing process.

how does your assessment affect your property taxes?

Your property taxes are tied to your assessed value, but maybe not in the way you think. Just because your assessed value increases by, say, 10 per cent, that doesn’t mean that your property taxes will automatically see a 10 per cent increase, too. Instead, local governments determine their annual budgets for public services and the amount of money they need to pay for those services. They then determine their property tax rate for the year and apply it to the assessed values. It’s the change in the property tax rate that is the most significant to your yearly budgeting plans. While an increased assessed value will mean an increased property tax bill, it doesn’t go hand-in-hand with your increased value.

The current tax rate for the city of Victoria is a total of 5.0976%. If you’re curious how your City of Victoria taxes are broken down, you can visit the city’s property tax estimator here: https://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/residents/property-taxes/estimator.html.

how bc assessment assessors determine your value

Curious as to how property assessors assign values? BC Assessment works with professional appraisers and a database of appraisal inspections. BC Assessment is notified of title changes, permit approvals, and zoning adjustments as they come up, and they will also consider a property’s location, size, age, garages, and other details. However, appraisers can only use information available to them through external channels and may not know or account for significant upgrades to a home. This is a big reason why assessed value isn’t necessarily a comparable to true market value.

Have questions about how changes to your assessed value? Are you curious to know what your fair market value might be? We can help! We’re always happy to give you a no-obligation market evaluation.

Visit us at harogroup.ca or email us at harogroup@evrealestate.com.

Until next time!

Kaley, Mike + Rodney