Home prices are booming in Surrey, with some areas seeing increases of up to 50 per cent.
B.C. Assessment Authority is sending out notices of home valuations as of July 1, 2016 for municipal tax purposes.
The prices in Surrey are exploding.
The biggest increases in the region are being seen in South Surrey, where a home that was worth $790,000 in 2015 is now valued at $1.196 million – a jump of 50 per cent.
Homes that have climbed past $1.2 million are no longer eligible for the provincial homeowner grant.
A home in White Rock rose 49 per cent, according to an example chosen by B.C. Assessment. It climbed from $1.268 million to $1.885 million.
The next highest increase in valuation in Surrey was in the north, where a property shot up from $491,000 to $701,000 – a hike of 43 per cent.
Falling further back were central Surrey, which went from $592,000 for a single detached home to $803,000 (up 36 per cent); and east Surrey, which saw a home go up from $630,000 to $846,000 (34 per cent).
Search for the assessed value of your property here
The jump in prices doesn't necessarily mean a hike in taxes.
If your home climbed higher than the average in your area, you will see an increase due to valuation.
If your home saw an increase below the average, there will be a reducing effect on your taxes.
(Surrey has called for a 3.9-per-cent increase in taxes this year, so those affected may see a jump in annual taxes anyway).
Assessments reflect B.C. Assessment's estimate of property values last July 1, a month before the B.C. government imposed a 15-per-cent tax on purchases of Metro Vancouver homes by foreign buyers, a move that cooled the region's then-heated market.
Anyone who needs more information about their assessment can contact the authority at: https://www.bcassessment.ca/contact-us
Homeowners are also able to appeal their assessment by launching a process prior to the Jan. 31 deadline.
It can be initiated by contacting the Property Assessment Review Panel at this link: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/owning-a-home/property-assessment-review-panels2
The appeals are heard between Feb. 1 and March 15.