The value of most Surrey homes gained modestly, according to new 2012 values released Tuesday by BC Assessment.
The property assessments are being mailed out this week but south of Fraser properties generally shouldn't see the large increases seen in some parts of Metro Vancouver.
"Home owners in Surrey and White Rock will see modest changes in the minus 5 to plus 15 per cent range," said Chris Danchuk, deputy assessor for the South Fraser region.
The numbers vary considerably depending on neighbourhoods, property type, age and other localized factors. Property owners can view their neighbours' assessments online to compare values.
Sample homes in Newton and Cloverdale barely changed from the previous year's assessments, according to BC Assessment, while houses in Fleetwood, Whalley and Guildford gained between three and six per cent on the year. (See graph above.)
South Surrey homes are up more – roughly 9.5 per cent in the case of one sample house that climbed from $623,800 to $683,000 – and many White Rock houses are up by eight to 12 per cent.
Commercial and industrial properties in the area can expect gains ranging from zero to 15 per cent.
Overall, Surrey and White Rock total real estate values increased 8.3 per cent to $93.8 billion, although almost $2.1 billion of that stems from subdivisions, rezoning and new construction.
More than two million assessment notices are being mailed this month, leaving time for an appeal period before property taxes are assessed.
Values stayed mainly stable in the Fraser Valley for residential homes and strata properties, while business or industrial properties were up zero to 20 per cent.
North Fraser, from Burnaby to Port Coquitlam, saw increased values on average, with pockets of increases in the 15 to 25 per cent range.
Delta values largely held steady, while there were increases of up to 30 per cent for some areas of Richmond.
Single-family homes in West Vancouver also increased in a range of 15 to 30 per cent over last year, with demand fuelled by buyers from Asia. Single-family homes in North Vancouver are up five to 10 per cent on average, with condominiums up less than five per cent.
In Greater Victoria, the 144,000 registered properties held steady on average. Most homeowners in the region will see a range from a five-per-cent increase to a two-per-cent decline. Values are stable or down slightly in the North Island, and holding steady in the Comox and Nanaimo regions.
Assessments in the Castlegar area are down slightly for a typical single family home in the urban area, from $265,000 in 2011 to $261,000 in 2012.
Property values for the northwest region including Terrace and Prince Rupert were up on average, with increases ranging from zero to 10 per cent. Similar increases were recorded in Smithers, Hazelton and Telkwa.
Central Okanagan values ranged between steady and down five per cent. In the North Okanagan, average values declined between zero and 10 per cent, while South Okanagan values were in a range of five per cent decrease to five per cent increase.
Summaries for each region and values of individual properties can be viewed at www.bcassessment.ca.
Owners have until Jan. 31 to dispute their assessments, which are intended to reflect a snapshot as of July 1, 2011.
The Surrey office is at 208-5460 152 Street or call 604-576-4700.
– with files from Tom Fletcher