Gulf Islanders got their first look at the province’s assessment of home values with the new year, and while increases in value have continued, the rate of growth at least seems to have slowed.
Individual property owners’ information went live online Sunday, Jan.1; market trends were released the morning of Jan. 3. Between July 1, 2021 and July 1, 2022, the BC Assessment Authority assessed an increase in Salt Spring Island’s residential property values of 10.3 per cent on average, with the average single-family residential unit increasing 10.1 per cent and strata units increasing 13.2 per cent in value.
On the outer islands — in a “neighbourhood” designated by BC Assessment that included Pender, Saturna, Mayne and Galiano islands — residential properties increased in assessed value by an average of 14.3 per cent.
Combined, overall Gulf Islands residential properties on average increased in assessed value 12.3 per cent, with single-family residential parcels increasing by 12.1 per cent and strata properties increasing 13.2 per cent. That figure stands in some contrast to last year’s assessed value increases, which topped 35 per cent across the Gulf Islands. The average single-family home in the Gulf Islands is now valued at $876,000, up from $791,000 in 2022 — and from $584,000 in 2021, showing a 50 per cent growth in assessed value over three years ago.
A few homes in the Gulf Islands found themselves on the province’s top 500 valued residential properties — although most were on private islands. The exception was a home and acreage at the tip of Scott Point on Salt Spring Island, valued at just under $13.2 million — $2.3 million more than the previous year’s assessed value, or about a 20.7 per cent increase from 2022.
A property encompassing a home and land on the entirety of Samuel Island — between Mayne and Saturna islands — was valued at over $20.7 million. To the south, Forrest Island was assessed at $15.2 million; Domville Island, at $17.1 million; and James Island, at $61.2 million. The total value of all real estate on B.C.’s 2023 Assessment Roll is over $2.72 trillion, an increase of just under 12 per cent from 2022.
The total value of all real estate on B.C.’s 2023 Assessment Roll is over $2.72 trillion, an increase of just under 12 per cent from 2022.
Those increases generally fall within the BC Assessment Authority’s predictions late last year — an anticipated five to 15 per cent rise in value across the province — although Vancouver Island communities saw a wide range of average increases. City of Victoria single-family homes rose in value by eight per cent on average from 2022, while Town of Lake Cowichan homes rose 23 per cent and a home in Port McNeil is now valued 26 per cent more.
Village of Sayward properties grew in valuation the fastest among BC Assessment’s geographical areas, at 28 per cent; the Village of Port Alice was the only area that saw an average decline in valuation for single-family homes, dropping one per cent below 2022’s valuation.
The province has said a change in assessment value does not necessarily mean property taxes will go up or down by a corresponding amount; taxes are typically only affected if a specific property rises above — or below — the average value change in its geographical area.
Also, according to Vancouver Island deputy assessor Jodie MacLennan, these numbers are a snapshot of estimated values in the middle of the summer, not necessarily a fully accurate picture of the market right now.
“While the current real estate market has been trending downwards, it is important to consider that 2023 assessments are based on what your home could have sold for as of July 1, 2022,” said MacLennan, “when the market was performing higher.”
To see the assessed value of a property, visit the website bcassessment.ca and enter the address or parcel number. Property owners concerned about their assessments can find contact information there as well, if they feel their property valuation or other information noted there is incorrect.
“If a property owner is still concerned about their assessment after speaking to one of our appraisers, they may submit a Notice of Complaint (appeal) by Jan. 31,” said MacLennan, “for an independent review by a Property Assessment Review Panel.”
The Property Assessment Review Panels operated independent of BC Assessment, are appointed annually by the provincial government, and typically meet between Feb. 1 and March 15 to hear formal complaints.