2015 BC Assessments

[Pinion]

Anyone else get their assessment? Edit: details deleted due to butthurt posters.

[officedweller]

Checked on-line and my condo (1 bedroom + solarium, 1993 building) went up only $1,000 - which is good for my property taxes
(I'm hoping my total property taxes will be below $1,000 this year).
A friend's place across the street (same square footage (865 sq ft), but a 2 bedroom, 2000-ish building) went up $34,000.
My assessment is still $127,000 below his.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

[Bdawe]

Originally Posted by Pinion

Maybe too much overbuilding of similar places on Marine drive and Lower Lonsdale??.

I really have to protest against the notion that building enough to cause prices to fall is 'overbuilding'

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by Bdawe

I really have to protest against the notion that building enough to cause prices to fall is 'overbuilding'

We'll see how you feel when it's your mortgage.

Of course it's good for people in general - this is not a thread about that though.

[GeeCee]

My 10 year old condo went up 7.4% this year after going down last year due to the foreclosure sale when I purchased it.

[mcminsen]

My new assessment made my eyes pop. Up $51,000 from the previous one, about a 12.7% increase. My 15 year old building is at the corner of Robson and Homer, downtown. For the last five years my condo's assessments have been up and down like a seesaw but this was the biggest increase ever. This new assessed value (actually what they thought it was worth on July 1st, 2015) is now up 306% from what I paid for the condo (new) in April 2001.

[TourOdeon]

Brentwood mall's land value assessment doubled, while Metrotown's up $50mil

[Stingray2004]

Guys. Of course single-family dwellings (freeholds) will continue to see major assessment increases due to underlying land values. BTW, back in 1973, when the then gov't brought in the ALR... single-family lot values literally doubled overnight in Metro Vancouver (extended family continues to tell me their own fortune from back in the day). Just the nature of the beast.

In any event, if your assessments increase less than others in your immediate area (simply speaking)... consider the flip side - your property taxes will either not increase or will decrease based upon the overall mill rates. Assessments can sometimes be waaaaay outta whack with market value as well.

To wit, about 10 years ago, I purchased a small land parcel (long-term future residential development) for roughly $500,000 in the Metro Van region. Said property assessment in the following year? $4.6 million. When I got that assessment I thought WTF? (Would have loved to have sold the thing for that sum at that time!)

So I sent a e-mail to the local district assessor with accompanying sale/land title documentation... and he came back... apologized (left, right, and centre) for their error and reduced same back the ~$500,000. Ego, soooo many errors happen in the property assessment system.

As a further aside, I have personally went to the BC Assessment Appeal Board twice in my life, on a couple of other matters, in order to lower the assessment on other properties. Ya need to know what ya are doin' thereto though... but I was fortunately successful both times to some extent.

My motivation? Just wanted lower property assessments in order to reduce annual property taxes.

Just somethin' to chew on if ya are in that kinda situation/mindset.

[mcminsen]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

...Assessments can sometimes be waaaaay outta whack with market value as well.

Boy, I'll say. I was just checking some of my neighbours assessments and recent sales history on bcassessment.ca.

A unit on the third floor sold in June for $482,000 ($33,000 over the asking price and $123,000 over it's last assessment). The new assessment on that unit is now 27% higher than the previous.

A penthouse also sold in June for $935,000 ($206,000 over it's last assessment). The sellers had just bought the unit four months before, gave it a facelift and sold it for $175,000 more than they paid. The new assessment on that penthouse is now 22% higher than the previous.

[WarrenC12]

Downtown condo, my assessment changes over the years:

2000 11.21%
2001 7.29%
2002 10.29%
2003 13.79%
2004 16.82%
2005 14.83%
2006 13.44%
2007 11.94%
2008 0.00%
2009 2.09%
2010 3.69%
2011 11.07%
2012 -3.20%
2013 3.31%
2014 -0.36%
2015 6.79%

Condos have consistently sold for over asking in this building, but I think that's typical when markets are hot.

I think this history shows that the bull market for RE that came to a halt in 2008 was kickstarted again primarily for SFHs in Vancouver, but condos have been mixed.

Gains on paper are only that until you cash out anyway. The only reason to concern yourself is around property taxes and your relative changes. SFHs are way up in Vancouver this year, it will be interesting to see how my taxes change. They've been pretty flat from 2011 on, even a few dollars less, due to massive SFH increases in that time.

The government pandering to the masses and freezing Assessment values is as stupid as it gets.

[twoNeurons]

Assessments are all over the place.

[GMasterAres]

All my properties went down slightly at about -3% each which is not terribly surprising given how much construction is going on in Surrey Central. All still worth well above what I paid and as has been noted, only really worth on paper until you try to sell.

Will at least help me in the pocket book when I pay my property taxes this year with them being a bit lower.

[connect2source]

Checked most of my downtown deals last year and I have some very happy clients today! Downtown is up everywhere, I'm noting some of the biggest increases in Coal Harbour and parts of Yaletown.

View suites have shown big gains, example :
1188 West Pender Street in Coal Harbour

Suite 1102, limited views just one 600 sq feet, assessed 505K
Suite 2003, same layout and size in reverse with view, assessed 578K

So BC Assessment is seeing views in this building worth 73K!

[go_leafs_go02]

My townhouse went up 3.5% compared to last year.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by connect2source

Checked most of my downtown deals last year and I have some very happy clients today! Downtown is up everywhere, I'm noting some of the biggest increases in Coal Harbour and parts of Yaletown.

View suites have shown big gains, example :
1188 West Pender Street in Coal Harbour

Suite 1102, limited views just one 600 sq feet, assessed 505K
Suite 2003, same layout and size in reverse with view, assessed 578K

So BC Assessment is seeing views in this building worth 73K!

I guess that reflects buyers willing to pay crazy prices for the views.

[nefc]

Our Citygate condo increased 20%, which compared to some of the other posts above, seems relatively high. I wonder if that increase is influenced by all the new development in the surrounding areas.

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by connect2source

So BC Assessment is seeing views in this building worth 73K!

I wonder if the assessment price for view units goes down if something gets built across the street and blocks major part of the view? How could they even be taking such into account?

Originally Posted by connect2source

Checked most of my downtown deals last year and I have some very happy clients today!

Should one read this as you having had lots of investors/flippers recently? Any idea what portion such people make of the market today?

[Bdawe]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I wonder if the assessment price for view units goes down if something gets built across the street and blocks major part of the view? How could they even be taking such into account?



Should one read this as you having had lots of investors/flippers recently? Any idea what portion such people make of the market today?

That happened to me this year, and my assessment hasn't gone down. Goodbye harbour-and-mountain view

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Should one read this as you having had lots of investors/flippers recently? Any idea what portion such people make of the market today?

Most of my buyers in 2015 were owner occupants. That said, the average holding time of my clients over the last 5 years has been 3-5 years on average. Just enough to absorb PTT and commissions. Most, however, just re-invest and keep pace with the market. I find most buyer grow tired of 'shoebox' 550 - 600 sq foot condos after 3-5 year and simply want change.

I'd say the flipper/investors made up the majority of condo buyers downtown in 2015, the offshore money is what drove the price increases, I saw most desirable units in multiple-offers selling 10K - 50K over asking with offshore buyers winning the majority of the bidding wars. Why?.. because any local buyer with even a single 'subject' was out, the winners were all-cash and subject-free.

[Steveston]

The assessment on my 18 yr old SFD in Steveston increased by $155,000.