Article content continued

This will come as no surprise to market watchers who have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars shaved off the value of homes sold in Vancouver, especially among single-family homeowners who bought at the peak of the market in the spring 2016 and are selling now.

The fall in valuation will also impact some owners’ personal finances, as the assessed value of a home is used by banks and credit unions to determine how much owners can borrow against their property, and will generally deplete owners’ equity.

“We first saw signs of moderation during the 2019 property assessments,” Ireland said. “For 2020 assessments, we are seeing a continued ripple effect of a moderating market expanding across the province.”

Metro Vancouver is comprised of cities as far east as Maple Ridge and Langley, and as far north as Lions Bay. The Lower Mainland goes as far east as Hope and as far north as Whistler.

Generally, owners of single-family homes in the Lower Mainland will see drops of between five and 15 per cent. However, single-family homeowners in Whistler will see their values go up as much as 15 per cent.

On Vancouver Island, value changes will fluctuate from a 10-per-cent drop to a 15-per-cent increase (mostly in central and north Vancouver Island.)

The brightest spot in the province for single-family homeowners is in the Kootenay-Columbia assessment region, where values will range from steady to a 15-per-cent increase. Owners in Cranbrook, Nelson and Golden will see the biggest increases.

Northern B.C. homeowners could see some reduced values, but emerging energy projects in the north will boost values as much as 25 per cent (in Terrace) and 10 per cent (in Prince George.)

While the assessment authority will mail out assessments in the new year, all assessments will be available online as of Jan. 2, 2020 at bcassessment.ca

dcarrigg@postmedia.com

twitter.com/davidcarrigg