Anmore and Belcarra lead B.C. rise
Derrick Penner
Sun
Little Belcarra, just to Anmore’s west, saw its property values rise almost 33 per cent from 2006 assessments. Photograph by : Bill Keay, Vancouver Sun file
The tiny community of Anmore, located north of Port Moody, saw the largest increase in assessments among Lower Mainland municipalities, according to B.C. Assessment Authority’s 2007 figures.
With an increase of almost 35 per cent, Anmore’s total property roll rose to a value of $626 million.
Little Belcarra, just to Anmore’s west, saw its property values rise almost 33 per cent from 2006 assessments, while Port Moody’s values increased almost 29 per cent.
They, along with Vancouver, where the value of the city’s real estate increased almost 26 per cent to a total $156 billion, outpaced the overall growth in B.C. at 23 per cent.
Jason Grant, BC Assessment’s area assessor for the Vancouver/Sea to Sky region said the figures simply reflect what is happening in various markets.
“It’s the real estate market itself, the vendors and purchasers, that really determine ultimately what the property is going to be worth,” Grant said.
“BC Assessment simply reports that number.”
Grant added that typically, assessments for individual properties in the region increased between 10 and 30 per cent, and “increases in excess of 20 per cent were common.”
Grant said commercial and industrial property values showed stronger gains in the 2007 assessment than they have in recent years, which contributed to overall gains.
Kash Kang, BC Assessment’s area assessor for the North Fraser area, which includes Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, added that changes in zoning from low density to higher-density residential use also drove assessments up in parts of his region.
That trend was particularly notable along the Lougheed Highway corridor, Kang said.
BC Assessment’s property-assessment values are set July 1, and reflect changes in real estate values over the previous 12 months.
Municipalities use assessments to set property tax rates.
And around Greater Vancouver, BC Assessment’s values are pretty consistent with the market data collected by other agencies, said Brian Yu, market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Yu said low mortgage rates, strong demand due to population increases and economic growth fuelled housing demand.
“And supply, for most of the year, wasn’t very high,” he added, which has driven prices up.
However, Yu added that sales across Greater Vancouver have lagged substantially since about March, so 2008 property assessments likely won’t match 2007’s gains.
