A year after assessment figures dropped across the board in every Greater Victoria municipality, there was some improvement in the 2015 assessment notices.
According to figures released today by B.C. Assessment, six of the region’s 13 municipalities saw a slight increase in the average assessment of single-family homes.
Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich (school district 61), Oak Bay, View Royal and Sidney all saw small increases, while North and Central Saanich showed no change.
All other municipalities saw a drop in the average assessment.
›› Scroll down for a map illustrating assessments by municipality
“The majority of residential homeowners will observe a modest assessment change compared to last year's assessment,” said regional assessor Reuben Danakody. “Most single-family and strata residential homeowners in the capital region will see average changes [of between -2.0 per cent] to three per cent. This reflects market change from July 1, 2013, to July 1, 2014.”
The biggest increase was seen in Oak Bay, where the average single-family home was assessed at $686,000, up 2.85 per cent from last year.
Victoria saw an increase of 1.9 per cent to $536,000, Esquimalt had a 1.63 per cent jump to $499,000, Saanich was up 1.21 per cent to $503,000, Sidney increased 1.17 per cent to $432,000, and View Royal moved up 0.23 per cent to $430,000.
The largest decrease in average property assessment was in Sooke, which fell 4.17 per cent to $299,000, while Colwood dropped 2.39 per cent to $490,000.
According to B.C. Assessment, owners of commercial properties in the capital region will see average changes between two and six per cent this year.
The entire capital region assessment roll increased slightly from $88.8 billion to $90.5 billion this year. B.C. Assessment said more than $1.09 billion of the total roll is a result of subdivisions, rezoning and new construction.
Property owners in the region will get their 2015 assessment notices in the next few days. More than 146,000 have now been mailed.
“Property owners who feel that their property assessment does not reflect market value as of July 1, 2014 or see incorrect information on their notice, should contact B.C. Assessment as indicated on their notice as soon as possible in January,” said Danakody.
Property owners can submit a notice of complaint to appeal their assessment by Feb. 2.
Review panels, independent of B.C. Assessment, are appointed annually by the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, and typically meet between Feb. 1 and March 15 to hear formal complaints.
B.C. Assessment has launched a newly enhanced version of its free e-valueBC service that allows anyone to search, check and compare properties online at bcassessment.ca.
Across the province there were 1,974,120 properties on the 2015 roll, which is a 0.98 per cent increase from 2014. The total value of the roll is $1.21 trillion, a 5.84 per cent increase from last year.
2015 Capital region property assessments by TimesColonist
