The overall value of all real estate in Revelstoke declined by about $50 million over the past year according to the latest valuations by BC Assessment released last Tuesday morning.
“Most homes in Revelstoke are worth a bit less on this year’s assessment roll than they were on the 2010 assessment roll,” said Dan Gaudry, Regional Deputy Assessor in a press release. “For example, a typical single family home that was assessed at $325,000 on the last assessment would be assessed at $311,000 on the 2011 assessment.”
Revelstoke’s total assessment decreased by about 3 per cent, to $1.6 billion this year from $1.65 billion last year, according to BC Assessment. That’s still well above the $1.44 billion in assessed value recorded in 2009.
The decrease was led by residential properties, which declined by an average of 5.39 per cent; business and other property saw their values go up by 2.09 per cent.
How will this impact your tax bill? It all depends on how much your assessment changed compared to the average, said Graham Inglis, the director of finances for the City of Revelstoke.
If your assessment went down by five per cent, then you’re tax increase will be the same as the city average. If your assessment went down by more than five per cent, you’ll have a smaller increase.
“If your assessment doesn’t go down as much as five per cent or actually goes up then you’re going to pay more than the average tax increase,” said Inglis. “If it’s gone up substantially, then you should certainly get in touch with city hall to find out what your taxes will likely be and if it’s worth appealing.”
The change in assessment is similar to other communities in the Okanagan-Shuswap region, said Gaudry in a phone interview.
“We’re looking at minus-five, plus-five changes in the market place up and down the valley,” he said. “In Revelstoke I’m not aware of a specific issue residentially that has caused the market to change any more or less than what’s happening in the rest of the Okanagan at large.”
Specifically, Gaudry said residential acreages are down more than single-family lots and mobile homes increased in value by “a couple of per cent.”
Property owners that don’t agree with their assessment must appeal to BC Assessment by Jan. 31.
In the rest of B.C., property values continued their upward climb and topped $1 trillion for the first time ever, BC Assessment said. The total value of all real estate in the province in 2011 is $1,043,127,129,141 – an eight per cent increase over 2010.
You can view your property value assessment at evaluebc.bcassessment.ca.