KAMLOOPS — Annual property assessment notices are in the mail, but according to the BC Assessment Authority, most of them shouldn’t be too surprising to Kamloops-area homeowners.
Deputy Assessor Graham Held says most property value changes as of July 1, 2015, were either up or down by less than 15 per cent.
Within Kamloops, the area that saw the biggest average value jump was Juniper Ridge, up about 5 per cent, while South Sahali and Barnhartvale both saw average values decreasing slightly.
Overall, Held says the numbers show a strong local economy “If you’re looking at real estate values as one potential measure for the health of the economy, then I’d say that what the values are telling us is that the region still has a very healthy economy, that it is still very vibrant.”
Held adds the BC Assessment Authority’s website has been enhanced to make it more user-friendly, and homeowners can find plenty of neighbourhood information online.
Overall, the Thompson area’s total assessments increased from $23.59 billion in 2015 to $24.14 billion this year.
A total of almost $308 million of the Thompson area’s updated assessments is from new construction, subdivisions and rezoning of properties. The Thompson portion of BC Assessment’s Thompson Okanagan region includes the City of Kamloops, District of Barriere, District of Clearwater, City of Merritt, Village of Ashcroft, Village of Cache Creek, Village of Chase, Village of Clinton, Village of Lytton, District of Logan Lake, Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality and the rural areas surrounding these communities.
The deadline to appeal your property assessment is February 1, 2016.
