A spike of more than 30 per cent in typical single-family home values in Chilliwack is being reported as the 2017 assessments arrive this week.
That's the word from deputy assessor Brian Smith of BC Assessment's Fraser Valley region office.
“The majority of residential home owners within the region can expect an increase compared to last year’s assessment,” he said.
Whereas increases of 30 per cent to 50 per cent were the norm for residential properties in Chilliwack and across the Fraser Valley in 2017, increases for condos and townhouses were not quite as high.
Two residential properties used as typical examples by assessors, one in the centre of Chilliwack, and a second one on acreage east of Chilliwack, will see increases of +33 per cent, and +32 per cent respectively.
The first home went up from $361,000 to $481,000 (+33 per cent), and the second went from $661,000 to $877,000 (+32 per cent).
About 1,700 early notices for Chilliwack owners were sent out in December for those expected to see significant hikes in their assessed values for 2017. Regular 2017 notices for almost half a million properties in the Fraser Valley region were mailed out this week.
Most residential strata properties went up by 15 per cent to 30 per cent in the urban areas of Chilliwack.
A typical Chilliwack condo valued at $203,800 in 2016 will be going up to $234,500 for 2017, which is a +15 per cent increase. A Chilliwack townhouse assessed at $185,100, will be $236,100, which is up by +27 per cent for 2017.
Commercial and light industrial properties saw increases from +10% to +30%.
The BC Assessment Fraser Valley region includes properties in Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Mission, as well as Richmond, Delta, Surrey and the rest of the Fraser Valley up past Hope and Boston Bar.
Some property owners make the mistaken assumption that higher assessment values from BC Assessments always translates into higher municipal property taxes. This is not the case.
City of Chilliwack, and BC Assessment are different entities and BC Assessment operates separately under provincial legislation.
When assessed property values go up, it's a boon for those trying to sell and not so good for buyers. But it has no affect on municipal taxes, unless the individual property increase is much higher than the average, according to City of Chilliwack staff.
City officials "factor out" the effect of overall increases or decreases in assessments when calculating the annual tax rate. They always collect the same amount of tax revenue, and levy the taxes based on assessments. So that means there is no windfall for city coffers when assessments go up, nor do they have budget crisis in the years when they are down.