Property taxes will take a hike upward for some homeowners following B.C. Assessment’s valuation of Nanaimo properties for 2019.
The valuations, released Wednesday, are made every July 1, and this year located the top 10 highest-valued properties within Nanaimo’s city limits along Stephenson Point Road, the water side, and on Hinrich View, which runs off Vista View Crescent in Nanaimo’s Hammond Bay area and overlooks the Salish Sea and coastal mountains.
Values for Nanaimo properties within city boundaries rose 10.6 per cent for residential properties, 5.7 per cent for businesses and light industry property values climbed 7.0 per cent.
Local rural property values took a higher leap with residential values jumping 11.8 per cent, business properties increasing 9.5 per cent and light industrial up 11.5 per cent.
Changes in property values are driven by sales activity within a market assessment area. Gerry Marolla, deputy assessor, said in 2017 and 2018 people still found the central Island region a desirable place to buy and live and said so “with their wallets.”
“Assessments are based on market transactions and all we’re doing is reporting out what has happened in those communities relative to market transactions,” Marolla said. “So for instance … in Tahsis there was 12 sales and Tahsis saw a 30 per cent increase … we’re not in the business of speculating on what the market is doing. We’re not speculating on what the future holds. We’re just reporting what’s happened in and around that July 1 valuation date … If the market continues to increase, that will be reflected next year and if the market decreases, that will be reflected out in the values established for July 1, six months from now.”
Property owners can check the B.C. Assessment website for informations on values and sales histories of their properties and surrounding properties to make comparisons to get an idea of what the worth is of their property is and and appeal valuations they don’t agree with. Marolla said last year his office fielded about 10,000 phone calls from across the province, representing less than one per cent of the properties in the province.
“They then can decide whether that assessment is reasonable,” Marolla said. “If it’s reasonable they don’t need to talk to us. If they think it’s unreasonable then they should phone us. They should have those conversations with us. We can engage them in why we think the property is worth what it is and if there’s things that we’re not aware of then we can still adjust it.”
To learn more about property assessments across the province and check specific property values, visit www.bcassessment.ca.
Nanaimo’s highest-assessed properties:
- 5025 Hinrich View, Nanaimo $4,405,000
- 3372 Stephenson Pt Rd, Nanaimo $4,179,000
- 5512 Hiquebran Rd, Nanaimo $3,766,000
- 3384 Stephenson Pt Rd, Nanaimo $3,223,000
- 5031 Hinrich View, Nanaimo $2,590,000
- 3432 Stephenson Pt Rd, Nanaimo $2,439,000
- 3330 Stephenson Pt Rd, Nanaimo $2,387,000
- 3380 Stephenson Pt Rd, Nanaimo $2,386,000
- 3394 Stephenson Pt Rd, Nanaimo $2,375,000
- 5006 Hinrich View, Nanaimo $2,342,000
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