Anita Schmitt

  Assessment Sticker Shock  

BC Assessment recently issued its annual notice of property assessments.  Some homeowners are still in shock over the increase in assessed value of their properties. 

 

Property assessments are intended to reflect the "market value" of property as of July 1st of the previous year.  Property prices have been rising dramatically in recent years in BC, no more so than in the Lower Mainland where year over year increases have been as much as 20% or more.

 

It is understandable that property assessments would catch up to the market place. 

 

Many

On Balance 2006 Another Strong Year For Real Estate  

Sales of 35,506 properties one of the strongest on record  

 

"Although we're seeing lower sales than last year, [off 12.4%], it's important to note that the record-breaking sales pace of 2005 continued well into the first five months of 2006.  Sales activity has been quieter since June, which is not a surprise considering we were breaking sales records on a monthly basis for well over a year.  We're still seeing rising prices, though this is happening at a slower pace," says Rick Valouche President of The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.  “We’ve