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Less than two per cent of B.C. homeowners appealed assessments

Vancouver figures not available until March
real estate
Only 1.38 per cent of property owners in B.C. appealed their assessments. Numbers specific to Vancouver have not been released yet. Photo Dan Toulgoet.

Few B.C. homeowners have appealed their property assessments, according to statistics released by B.C. Assessment.

For 2017, 27,887 property assessments were appealed, which translates to about 1.38 per cent of the approximately 2.01 million properties on the assessment roll.

Appeals had to be filed by Jan. 31. Typically, fewer than two per cent appeal. Numbers specific to Vancouver and other regions won’t be finalized and released until the end of March. In late January, Jason Grant, the acting vice president of assessment, told the Courier that inquiries to B.C. Assessment about 2017 assessments were trending down about seven per cent from the previous year.

This year's appeal rate is consistent with past years:

  • In 2016, 23,354 homeowners appealed or 1.2 per cent.
  • In 2015, 22,296 homeowners appealed or 1.1 per cent.
  • In 2014, 17,874 homeowners appealed or 0.91 per cent.
  • In 2013, 23,847 homeowners appealed or 1.2 per cent.
  • In 2012, 23,438 homeowners appealed or 1.2 per cent.

Some Vancouver property owners saw their assessments climb by 40 per cent this year. Numbers in the 2017 assessment roll reflect assessed values as of July 1, 2016, when the market was at a peak.

Examples of individual assessments that B.C. Assessment released in early January, revealed the assessed value of a single-family 33-foot East Side lot went from $947,300 to $1,338,900, while a West Side lot of the same size went from $1.94 million to $2.74 million.

Meanwhile, the value of an East Side high-rise strata went from 405,000 to $486,000 — a 20 per cent increase, while a West Side low-rise strate went from $662,000 to $827,000 — a 25 per cent increase.

Hearings for those who have appealed their assessments are held between Feb. 1 and March 15.

@naoibh