Property taxes in British Columbia have been generally trending higher for years but the softening market in many parts of the province is set to snap that trend.

BC Assessment bases its assessments on values on July 1st each year and says that when assessments begin to reach households early in January, many will see a reduction.

“It’s a real mix in property value changes, but the market can best be summed up as showing signs of stability across most areas of the province,” says Assessor Tina Ireland. “Changes in property assessments really depend on where you live. For example, assessed values for detached single family homes in many areas of Metro Vancouver may see a softening in value, while other markets and areas of the province will see modest increases over last year’s values.”

On July 1, some Metro Vancouver detached single family homes were showing decreases in value of 5-10% over last year, including in areas of Vancouver, the North Shore, South Surrey, White Rock, South Delta and Richmond. Other areas were relatively stable or even showing modest increases.

But there could be increases of 5-15% in other parts of the province including the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, Okanagan and the North. And in central and northern Vancouver, increases were near 20%.

Condo values increased 10-20% in most of the province with Vancouver, the North Shore and Burnaby increasing by slightly less than this range while the eastern Fraser Valley may see some assessments above this range.