It’s that time of year again. The 2021 BC Property Assessments arrived in the mail earlier this month. If you have not received your latest property tax assessment, you can also get access here.

Homes generally sell above and sometimes well above the assessed value approximately 80% of the time. This year will be no exception as the values on most Metro Vancouver homes and condos have up as much as 10% in 2021.

It’s important to note that BC property assessed value has little correlation to the market value of a property. It’s simply a very conservative estimate, a snapshot in time if you will, of what your home was worth—based on sales—as of July 1, 2020.

What does the property tax assessment increase mean for mortgage renewals?

As I have mentioned before, assessed values have little resemblance to the market value therefore, in most cases renewal won’t be an issue.

Generally speaking, when renewing a mortgage with the same lender, so long as your credit standing has not substantially deteriorated, requalification isn’t required most of the time. Therefore, if you’re staying with your current lender, this is typically a non-issue and renewing is straightforward for the more than 99% of Canadian homeowners whose mortgage is in good standing.

As a matter of practice, as long as your mortgage payments are being made on time, the lender typically won’t undertake a new property valuation at renewal.

To get an accurate value on your home for mortgage financing, litigation or other matters such as spousal buyout or divorce or to appeal the value of your assessment, I would highly recommend seeking a licensed appraiser that is a member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada with CRA or AACI designation.

Do contact us for a licensed appraiser recommendation. We’d be more than happy to assist.