Property owners in the Tri-Cities got their assessments in the mail this week, with many notices showing values up 15% for detached homes.
But for those living in multi-family units - that is, condos and townhomes - the values were not as strong due to the abundant supply.
BC Assessment North Fraser deputy assessor Niko Papoutsakis said single-family home owners saw the biggest gain while the strata market was between -5% and 10%. In Port Coquitlam, a downtown condo built in 2007 dropped $5,000 on average, the agency reported last Friday.
(According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, which released its figures on Monday, detached homes are the most sought-after property type with values up 8.1% over the last 12 months - about twice as much as multi-family homes.)
Still, while PoCo remains the most affordable place to live in the Tri-Cities, the priciest houses continue to be concentrated in the villages of Belcarra and Anmore.
Of the Top 100 valued residential properties in the North Fraser zone, which includes the Tri-Cities, Burnaby and New Westminster, 19 homes are located in Belcarra (population 700) and six are in Anmore (pop. 2,000).
As well, Coquitlam made an appearance on the Top 500 list of most valued lands in B.C., with a 36-acre, undeveloped parcel that is privately owned. Commonly called the Ratcliffe Lands, the property on the east side of Burke Mountain - at 3655 Crouch Ave. - is assessed at $11.19 million.
In total, the North Fraser area had an $8.5-billion surge in its roll over the past year, from $132.5 billion to $141 billion. The jump is being attributed to the added subdivisions, rezonings and new construction; in west Coquitlam and Port Moody, specifically, the Evergreen Line is also pushing the value of residential and commercial land values, BC Assessment reported.
Assessments, which are based on size, age, quality, condition and location of a home, for example, are used by municipalities when calculating property taxes. Municipal tax bills are due in early July.
Meanwhile, Tri-City property owners can compare their assessment with others by going online to bcassessment.ca (click on e-valueBC). Those who feel their assessment doesn't reflect market value as of July 1, 2014 - or see incorrect information on the notice - should contact BC Assessment at 1-866- 825-8322. Appeals need to be submitted by Feb. 2 for an independent review.
@jwarrenTC
Below, some examples of assessments from 2014 to '15
COQUITLAM 2014 2015
SFD Central Coquitlam 1980s $801k $852k
SFD Maillardville 1950s $719k $739k
SFD Ranch Park 1970s $545k $559k
SFD Westwood Plateau 1992 $810k $848k
SFD Oxford Heights 1993 $618k $705k
SFD New Horizons 1981 $530k $576k
SFD Burke Mountain 2011 $815k $856k
Strata highrise, 2-bed 1989 $360k $371k
Strata lowrise, 2-bed 1992 $220k $231k
Strata townhouse, 3-bed 1989 $347k $351k
PORT COQUITLAM 2014 2015
SFD Mary Hill 1960s $503k $531k
SFD Citadel Heights 1990s $670k $705k
SFD Lincoln Park 1970s $523k $534k
Strata, downtown, lowrise 2007 $265k $260k
Strata Citadel townhouse 1988 $373k $381k
PORT MOODY 2014 2015
SFD College Park 1960s $695k $747k
SFD North Shore 1970s $830k $873k
SFD Heritage Woods 1997 $1m $1.1m
Strata highrise, 2-bed 2005 $348k $353k
Strata lowrise, 2-bed 1996 $356k $357k
Strata townhouse, 3-bed 1990 $277k $285k
CORRECTION
In an article published on page 3 on Wednesday ("House owners see big jumps in property assessments for 2015," Jan. 7, 2015), it was incorrectly reported the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver owned 3655 Crouch Ave. In fact, the 35-acre Coquitlam parcel is privately owned by Dennis and Elizabeth Ratcliffe.
