Single-family dwellings in the Dover and Dickinson roads area saw the greatest change in market value in the City of Nanaimo, according to B.C. Assessment.
The 2017 assessment roll provides a snapshot of market conditions as of last July 1. A recent B.C. Assessment presentation to the Regional District of Nanaimo listed 17 city neighbourhoods and Dover/Dickinson saw a 21.1 per cent increase.
Bill Dawson, B.C. Assessment deputy assessor, said it was due to an old rule of real estate pertaining to location.
“When you look at that neighbourhood area, it consists of larger houses, high construction quality and condition. The market drove higher values in those neighbourhoods during 2016,” said Dawson. “This isn’t the case every single year. A few years back, we actually saw those southern neighbourhoods of Nanaimo, like Harewood and Chase River, they were increasing at higher rates than the north end. It’s just the ebbs and flows of demand and supply that effect those market value changes for the different types of neighbourhoods.”
Despite all the development taking place along Bowen Road, the market change was only 5.5 per cent, which was lowest.
“It’s condos, it’s commercial, those service industrial properties that are located in the Green Rock development,” said Dawson. “It’s just an amazing transformation of that portion of Nanaimo and it’s not being driven by single-family dwelling activity. As such, those assessments haven’t increased very much.”
For single-family dwellings and acreage properties in Nanaimo, Dawson said there will be a 14.5 per cent increase in the assessment roll due to market, but that doesn’t mean everyone who has a single family dwelling in Nanaimo will see an increase by that amount.
“There is a range in assessment change due to different sectors or neighbourhoods moving at different rates,” said Dawson.
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
