By Dylana Milobar

2019 property value assessments show increase for Kamloops area

Jan 2, 2019 | 3:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — Over the next few days, thousands of property owners in Kamloops and the surrounding areas can expect to receive their 2019 assessment notices.

The assessments reflect the market value as of July 1, 2018, and according to Graham Held, the Deputy Assessor for BC Assessment, the majority of properties in the Thompson area actually have a higher value than the year before.

“When you look at the City of Kamloops, and the increase that we saw from July 1 of 2017 to July 1 of 2018, the value increases were fairly uniform across the city for similar property types, like the single-family dwellings. We’re looking at very similar increases for the strata-residential as well.”

In fact, average values for single-family residential properties in Kamloops were up eight per cent.

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The area with the largest increase was Sun Peaks, with an 18 per cent climb, followed by Lillooet at 17 per cent, Clinton at 16 per cent, and Barriere at 13 per cent. 

“We saw increases as high as 23 per cent for the strata properties, which really are predominant in places like Sun Peaks,” Held explains. “When you have communities like Sun Peaks, you’re going to see unique changes, relative to somewhere like Kamloops, where we have a significant number of properties available.”

The President of the Kamloops & District Real Estate Association, Doren Quinton, says local realtors expect the uptick in property values won’t cause any major shake-ups in the real estate market.

“Different areas of town are going to be anywhere from five to 12 per cent, so we had a good year in the real estate market in 2018, and those values are as of July of last year, so we’re going to see increases, prices have stabilized since that time.”

Meanwhile, homeowners will be keeping a close eye on the assessment numbers, knowing changes to those could potentially bring changes to their annual property tax rate in Kamloops.

“It’s those relative changes that really matter,” Held explains. “So if your assessment went up more than the average, expect a relatively higher tax bill. If it went up less, expect a relatively lower tax bill.”

Now, BC Assessment will be looking over the assessment roll, and looking into any appeals made by property owners, to make any changes where errors are found.

“Those (changes) form what’s called the revised roll, and it’s those revised rolls and those totals that the taxing jurisdictions like the City of Kamloops for example, will use to set their tax rates,” Held explains. “They’re already well into their budgeting process, but they’ll wait until they have those final revised roll numbers so that they can set their tax rates based on those.”

Based on the average home value, the city will then determine how much residents will need to pay for property taxes, in order to budget for city services in 2019.

Held says property owners who want to take a closer look or double check on the accuracy of their assessment have a number of options over the next month to do so.

“Now is the time to call, if a property owner wants to do their own research, certainly the tools are available at bcassessment.ca,” he explains. “And at the end of the day, if a property owner isn’t satisfied or they want an independent review of their assessment, they need to file a notice of complaint by Jan. 31 of 2019.”