Most home values flattening after years of sharp increases, B.C. Assessment data shows

The value of residential properties throughout British Columbia has generally stabilized over the past year, according to 2024 property assessments released Tuesday.

"Most homeowners can expect only modest changes in the range of minus five per cent to plus five per cent," said Bryan Murao with B.C. Assessment. "These assessment changes are notably less than previous years."

Murao described the 2024 assessment landscape as "somewhat boring" compared to the double-digit increases seen in recent years.

Last January, the 2023 numbers showed B.C. home values had risen 12 per cent on average from the previous year. In 2022, property values in suburban communities like Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Langley soared by over 35 per cent.

Although quick to point out he is not an economist, Murao points to interest rates hikes as a slowing force in the housing market.

"Part of the reason we've seen such consistent market changes across the entire province is because the whole province is impacted by interest rates all the same. You're not looking at any locational factors," he said.

According to the new figures, the average value of a single-family home in the City of Vancouver rose four per cent in the past year, from $2.124 million to $2.209 million. For strata properties like condos and townhomes, the increase was negligible, from $804,000 to $807,000.

In the Lower Mainland — B.C.'s most populous region which includes Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Sea to Sky region and the Sunshine Coast — the tiny Village of Belcarra, population around 700, had the largest increase in the value of a single-family home, up nine per cent to $2.045 million.

The largest decline in the region was in the District of Hope, where the median value of a single-family home dropped 13 per cent from $705,000 to $611,000.

B.C. Assessment is the provincial authority that determines the values of homes across the province for tax purposes and official records. 2024 assessment notices reflect the market value of a property on July 1, 2023.

The assessments are used by government to provide homeowner grants, giving some relief on property tax bills ranging from $570 to $1,045 on homes that are valued at under $2.15 million.

Once again, the most valuable residential property in B.C. is the Vancouver waterfront home of Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, valued at $81.756 million — about $7 million more than in 2023.

On Vancouver Island, a number of tiny towns registered spikes in value of between 10 and 34 per cent, including Zeballos, Port Alice, Port McNeill and Alert Bay.

Murao said small communities with only a few real estate transactions in a year don't always yield the most accurate data compared to a place like Vancouver, where thousands of properties are bought and sold every year.

In north and central B.C., several communities saw fluctuations close to the plus- or minus-10-per-cent range, such as Prince Rupert, where single-family properties dipped eight per cent to $409,000.

While residential values have flattened, commercial and industrial assessments are rising at a faster pace, especially in the Fraser Valley due to a lack of land, according to Murao.

The total number of properties on the 2024 B.C. Assessment roll is 2,184,692, up one per cent from 2024, while the total value has increased three per cent to $2.79 trillion.