Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows homeowners will be checking their mail in the next few days to see if the value of their homes has gone up or down.
According to a B.C. Assessment news release, most of the Lower Mainland is showing decreases in their homes value, as of last July, when compared to the year previous.
Assessment notices will be in the mail in the next few days.
Deputy assessor Brian Smith, in a news release, said the area is showing “signs of moderation,” noting that Whistler will see a slight increase, while the rest of the region will reduced values.
When it comes to single family homes, both Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows show a six-per-cent drop when July 2019 property values are compared to July 2018 values.
Such a decrease showed that a house valued at $820,000 in Maple Ridge in July 2018, was worth $768,000 in July 2019.
In Pitt Meadows, a house valued at $871,000 in July 2018, was worth $821,000 in July 2019.
When it comes to condos, the drop in values can be anywhere between zero and 15 per cent.
Assessments are the estimate of a property’s market value as of July 1, 2019 and physical condition as of Oct. 31, 2019. The common valuation date ensures there is an equitable property assessment base for property taxation.
Read more: Real estate sales way below June average
During the first five months of this year though, the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows area had the highest number of sales of single family homes, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
Read more: Houses selling in Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows
B.C. Assessment’s numbers show there have been only modest changes to house prices, said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson.
“We are encouraged by signs that property values are continuing to stabilize, giving more certainty for those investing in multi-family buildings, more stability for current homeowners and improved opportunity for those entering the market,” she said in a release, Thursday.
However, in September, the B.C. Real Estate Association predicted a market recovery in B.C. in 2020, with the number of residential sales forecast to increase by 11 per cent to 82,700 units, just below the 10-year average of 85,800 units.
Read more: Signs of recovery in real estate industry
“B.C. markets are showing signs of recovery after nearly a year and a half of policy-induced declines,” said Brendon Ogmundson, real estate association deputy chief economist. “We expect that recovery to continue into next year, with home sales normalizing around long-term averages.”
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