91% of BC homes now eligible for property tax relief

“Really any property, single family, within 30 minutes of the city of Vancouver has performed very well”, said Jason Grant of the B.C. Assessment Authority.

Property values increased in Revelstoke for the second straight year in a row in 2015, BC Assessment announced Monday morning.

Without any change to the thresholds set previous year, homeowners with properties valued over $1.1 million would start to see the value of their $570 grant decline by $5 per $1,000 of assessed value up to the level of $1.25 million, at which point the grant is eliminated entirely. All 10 of this year’s priciest properties are single-family homes on the West Side of Vancouver.

(The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver noted Tuesday that sales of detached homes in December 2015 was up 36.4% versus the same month the year prior, and the benchmark price was up 24.3%, to $1.2 million).

Homes assessed up to $1.314 million in Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Capital Regional district are still eligible for a partial grant.

De Jong says the limit means 91 per cent of B.C. property owners remain eligible to claim the homeowner grant that reduces their annual property tax bill.

Living with a person with a disability. The NDP’s Mike Farworth says the grant typically goes up every year. More details are on the government website. That’s a 28 percent increase compared to home values of $993,000 as of July 1, 2014.

“It’s most relevant to seniors on fixed incomes who have seen a tremendous increase in their property values and it’s allowing many of them not to have that additional drain on their limited income”.

Owners of single-family homes in Vancouver should expect a nice surprise in the mail.

“So the other big difference this year is people might open their assessment and it’s reflecting July values and their values might have risen fairly dramatically since then depending on whereabouts they’re located”.

Statistics are being scrutinized as Vancouver garners global attention for attracting high-end home buyers from China to the city’s west side. The buying frenzy is further fuelled by the geographic setting – the region is already boxed in by the ocean, mountains, Canada-U.S. border and protected areas collectively known as the agricultural land reserve.

Assessed values are also up in the sprawling and less expensive suburb of Surrey.

If, after speaking to an appraiser, a homeowner still disagrees with their assessment, they may submit an appeal by February 1, for independent review.