Homeowners can now see their 2023 property assessments online, but one expert says it』s hard to know the value of a home unless it sells.
The assessment 「significantly influences the amount of property taxes you pay,」 the B.C. government said on its website.
Officials look at factors like the value, classification, location, and size of the property.
One expert in Vancouver says that many people may see higher property assessment values, due to a change in interest rates.
「For many people, their assessment may be significantly higher than the previous year. For many, it』ll be pretty similar, but very likely your assessment is greater than the current value of your home,」 said Tom Davidoff, associate professor at the University of British Columbia』s Sauder School of Business.
Assessor Bryan Murao says most B.C. homeowners can expect about a five to 15 per cent rise in their assessed values.
But the authority warns it may not be an accurate reflection of what homes are actually worth today, as the numbers are based on values from last Jul. 1, before the Bank of Canada started raising interest rates to curb inflation.
「The assessment is based on values last July, when interest rates were still quite a bit lower than they are today,」 Davidoff explained.
Some homeowners may also see an increase in taxes with the jump in value, but Davidoff says it depends on where you live.
「Now as for your tax bill, what matters is, 『what is your property value relative to the average in the city or municipality in which you live?』 And so if everybody』s assessment is 10 per cent too high, your tax bill isn』t really affected,」 he said.
But Davidoff adds that the assessment isn』t a perfect system, as it can be tricky to know the market value of a property.
「I mean, it would be nice if you could every day see a fair market value for your home, but it』s hard to know the value of your home until it sells on the market and you get an approximation from last July. That』s what we work on with taxes,」 he said.
source:News1130
