Values hold across the Valley

Ron Seymour 2010-01-05 Kelwona Daily Courier:

The average home in Kelowna dropped in assessed value by about three per cent in the past year, new figures show. West Kelowna residences dropped in assessed value by four per cent, Lake Country homes 2.7 per cent and Peachland residential assessments were virtually unchanged. “The assessments of most homes in Kelowna on this year‘s assessment roll have not changed significantly from 2009,” regional assessor Mark Wooldridge said on Monday. “Most homeowners in Kelowna will see modest changes in the minus five per cent to plus five per cent range.” More than 80,000 property owners throughout the Central Okanagan will receive their assessment notices in the next few days.

For taxation, the City of Kelowna considers the average detached single-family home to be assessed at $485,000. That‘s down from a peak average price of more than $550,000 in early 2008, before the onset of the recession. From December 2008 to December 2009, the typical detached, single-family home in the Kelowna area fell in value by 3.5 per cent, according to figures from the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board. “Prices are solidifying,” board vice-president Brenda Moshansky said. “We‘re not really seeing any of the big drops that we experienced earlier. “We are predicting that 2010 will be a turnaround year, with prices rising about six per cent.”

Assessed values not only give owners an estimate of their property‘s value if they‘re considering selling, but they are used to calculate local property taxes. The City of Kelowna recently adopted a budget for 2010 that projects a 1.6 per cent tax municipal increase for the owner of a so-called typical single-family home. Anyone whose home has fallen in assessed value by the city-wide average of about three per cent will pay 1.6 per cent more in taxes. If the assessed value has fallen by more than two per cent, the owner will pay less municipal tax; conversely, if it has fallen by less than two per cent in assessed value, or has increased, the owner will face a municipal tax hike of more than 1.6 per cent.

On its website, the City of Kelowna now offers a property tax estimator. If you enter your assessed value from last year and this year, it will estimate your property tax. To calculate your estimated 2010 property taxes, see Kelowna.ca and click on property taxes, then property tax estimator.

The total value of all buildings and land in the Central Okanagan is now assessed at $40.1 billion, up from $39.1 billion last year. Anyone who disputes the assessed value of their property has until Feb. 1 to file an objection through B.C. Assessment.