The numbers are in for Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs 2016 property assessments, and it’s rural owners that have seen the highest increases in the value of their land.
“What we have seen is that the acreage land has gone up about 10 per cent,” said Brian Smith, deputy assessor of BC Assessment for the Fraser Valley.
Both Kent and Harrison single-family homes are within a zero to 10 per cent upward change, and the two communities have “very minimal change” in their stable townhouse and condo markets.
The average residential increase across all properties in the District of Kent is 5.61 per cent, and the average increase in business assessments in the district is 5.82 per cent.
In Harrison Hot Springs those numbers are 2.7 per cent average increase across residential and 9.25 per cent upward change in business assessments.
“I definitely encourage everybody to look at their assessment and then go to our website evaluebc and use that as a tool to see if your assessment makes sense or appears to be within the range of some of the comparable properties that have sold in the area,” Smith said.
If owners feel that those numbers are not comparable Smith encourages people to call BC Assessment.
That call volume has been high according to the deputy assessor because the appeal deadline is Feb. 1 this year.
In a related discussion Tuesday at the District of Kent council meeting Judy Lewis, director of financial services for the district, reminded those in attendance what these numbers mean when it comes to paying taxes.
She pointed out that it’s not the amount of the increase of the assessed value that matters but the amount that a property increases in relation to the average for that property class.
“The mill rate is always adjusted according to the average changes,” Lewis said.