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Pemberton property values up 10-20 per cent

Though property owners might not feel it's a good thing, little Pemberton stands out as one of the communities with the highest average increase in property assessments in B.C.'s Lower Mainland for the 2010 assessment year, a B.C. assessment official said this week.

“Pemberton does stand out in terms of the communities that this office serves,” Jason Grant, area assessor for the Vancouver-Sea to Sky Region, told The Question on Monday (Jan. 4).

In assessment notices that were sent out this week, most of Pemberton's 1,300 property owners will see increases of between 10 and 20 per cent.

Some increases will be more than that — such as the single-family dwelling cited by Grant. Its assessment increased from $419,000 in 2009 to $522,000 in 2010, an increase of 24.6 per cent. Most, however, will be similar to the three-bedroom townhome Grant cited as another example. Its assessed value increased from $300,000 to $337,000, a hike of 12 per cent.

The overall value of Pemberton's tax roll increased from $429 million in 2009 to $493 million in 2010, with $7.3 million of that increase coming from new building, rezonings and subdivisions.

Last year, in recognition of the impact of increasing property values on property taxes, the B.C. government enacted legislation allowing those whose assessments increased to have their property taxes based on assessments from the previous year. This year no such legislation is in place, and in Pemberton, some of the increases reflect two years' worth of changes, Grant said.

The overall assessments for Whistler's 16,700 properties are virtually flat as compared to last year, Grant said. While the total assessment roll increased from $10.807 billion in 2009 to $11.020 billion in 2010, $205 million in new subdivisions, rezonings and new construction accounted for virtually all of the increase.

“Stability on average is the story, but that's recognizing that a lot of properties are going down as much as 10 per cent, but most of the property owners will be in a -10 to +10 per cent range,” Grant said.

“There are obviously situations outside that range, but those percentages encompass most property owners.”

Grant cited two examples for Whistler: A single-family dwelling in Alpine Meadows was assessed at $1.018 million in 2009 fell to $940,000 in 2010, a decrease of 7.7 per cent; and a single-family home in White Gold, valued at $911,000 in 2009, increased to $945,000 in 2010, a hike of 3.7 per cent.

Property assessments are one component of property taxes. The assessments are based on market value as of July 1 of the previous year — in this case 2009. Property owners’ taxes are a combination of municipal and non-municipal (mostly school) taxes, with different rates set by local governments and the B.C. Ministry of Education based on a dollar figure per $100,000 of assessed value.

Those seeking more information about the assessed value of other homes in their areas, or about how their assessments were arrived at, may visit www.bcassessment.ca. Those who feel their assessments are unfair must file a Notice of Complaint (appeal) by Feb. 1.

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