Lantzville estates rule the roster of highest-valued residential properties in the area.
Six of the top 10 highest-valued pieces of real estate in the Nanaimo-Lantzville area are in the seaside community, according to B.C. Assessment, which has released this year’s property assessments.
Owners of properties across Vancouver Island can now see their 2018 assessments online, and are expected to get notices in the mail this week.
Most can expect an increase, according to B.C. Assessment, which reports the average assessed value will go up from $385,000 to $441,000, or 15 per cent, in Nanaimo, from $335,000 to $396,000 or 18 per cent in rural Nanaimo and 21 per cent, from $442,000 to $535,000 in Lantzville.
The numbers reflect market value as of July 1, 2017.
- RELATED: 2017 B.C. Assessment values now available online
Christopher Whyte, deputy assessor, said each year B.C. Assessment looks at all sales over the yea and appraisers analyze them and compare them to the previous assessment to get an indication of how the market reacted year over year.
“Some of that reaction is going to be due to market pressure out of the bigger town centres like the Lower Mainland and the Capital Regional District in Victoria and also, like a lot of real estate professionals have reported over the year, there’s less supply in the market right now so that increases the demand and that generally can correlate to an increase price paid for property,” said Whyte, adding it’s important to remember an increase in property assessment doesn’t translate into an increase in taxes per se.
Also observed this year, he said, is that the increase in assessment value is fairly Island-wide, whereas last year the big growth was in Victoria and around the south Island.
But the province’s capital still dominated this year’s top 100 highest-assessed values on Vancouver Island, where neither Nanaimo nor Lantzville made the list. Locally, the No. 1 spot goes to Nanaimo’s 5025 Hinrich View, valued at $4.1 million, but the largest number of high-valued addresses are found in Lantzville, including a trio along Dickinson Road.
Derek Gillette, Remax real estate agent, said the values are because of the size of properties and along Dickinson and in Lantzville there’s walk-on waterfront.
“There’s only a few areas that have that, so that’s pretty rare. You’ve got Piper’s Lagoon, you’ve got some areas at Stephenson Point, but then the rest becomes high bank,” said Gillette, pointing out that not all of a high-bank property is usable compared to the lower part of Dickinson Road where landowners are physically able to use most of the property.
He’s not surprised at the increase in assessment values, pointing to Lantzville opening up with the Foothills, but as a slower-moving area for sales, he said a few high-end properties can have a greater impact on home values.
People can go onto B.C. Assessment’s website at www.bcassessment.ca and use the search function to see their assessments and others in their neighbourhood. If people have questions or concerns, they can call B.C. Assessment at 1-866-825-8322.
Top 10 valued residential properties for Nanaimo and Lantzville:
1. 5025 Hinrich View, Nanaimo $4.1M
2. 6970 Dickinson Road, Lantzville $3.84M
3. 7386 Sunbury Road, Lantzville $3.52M
4. 6960 Dickinson Road, Lantzville $3.4M
5. 7600 Harby Road W, Lantzville $3.32M
6. 3576 Planta Road, Nanaimo $3.2M
7. 3384 Stephenson Point Road, Nanaimo $3.15M
8. 6952 Dickinson Road, Lantzville $3.04M
9. 6998 Strait Road, Lantzville $2.7M
10. 3432 Stephenson Point Road, Nanaimo $2.38M